RSU Institute of Public Health and Robert Koch Institute explore collaboration to strengthen public health capacity

On 31 October 2025, Dr. Heide Weishaar, Acting Head of the Evidence-Based Public Health Unit (ZIG2) of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the national public health institute in Germany, visited the Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) Institute of Public Health to discuss collaboration opportunities for strengthening the capacity of public health specialists in Latvia.

Dr. Heide Weishaar is a senior public health researcher with expertise in health policy and systems research, global health, and research methods. She is responsible for ZIG2 work on the building of capacity in global health research and is leading several externally funded capacity development projects. Dr. Weishaar is responsible for the work of ZIG2, as well as the professional growth of external partners in relation to research methods.  She is the RKI contact point for the Berlin Global Health PhD programme.

Dr. Weishaar’s academic work focuses on policy analysis, health communication, non-communicable diseases, migration and health, and mainly applies qualitative and social network research methods. Dr. Weishaar has held research positions at the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, UK, and at the Hertie School of Governance, Germany. She holds a master’s and PhD degree from the University of Edinburgh, UK, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Bielefeld, Germany. Dr. Weishaar has won several awards and is scholarship recipient of the Foundation of German Business and the German National Academic Foundation.

What is capacity building?

According to the United Nations Development Programme, capacity building is the process through which individuals, organisations and societies obtain, strengthen and maintain the capabilities to reach their long-term development goals.

The RKI approach includes:

• Building knowledge and skills
• Development of infrastructure
• Strengthening partnerships and communities
• Creating possibilities and empowerment

Strengthening capacity in global health research

Dr. Weishaar spoke about the institute’s work on capacity building in global health research. The presentation introduced the ZIG2 unit’s approach focusing on scientific information, international collaboration, and professional development.

Capacity building is defined as the process through which individuals and organisations develop their capabilities to achieve their development goals. ZIG2 aims to improve global public health by obtaining, evaluating and applying strategic information. The unit provides scientific insights by studying the prioritisation and efficient implementation of international health policies and related projects. ZIG2 implements it through a range of activities – from doctoral programmes to targeted training and international projects.

The Berlin Global Health PhD Programme is one of the leading initiatives offering structured PhD programme in collaboration with research institutes in Berlin. It is aimed at professionals with expertise in global health, offering both full-time and part-time studies.

Likewise, ZIG2 actively engages interns, students and participants of epidemiology programmes allowing them to learn about the global health research environment and to enhance their academic skills.

In this presentation, two ambitious projects were highlighted:

• CARe – building capacity in applied public health research in Africa by training researchers and supporting young scientists.
• Sealing the Leaky Pipeline – an initiative empowering women’s leadership in global health research in Germany, including workshops, collaboration in research and creating a roadmap, namely strategic objectives in the short and long term, as well as steps intended to achieve these objectives.

Dr. Weishaar emphasised the critical importance of capacity building to ensure sustainable development and efficient health policy on a global scale.

Conclusion of the meeting

At the end of the meeting, both institutes, joined by representatives from the  Ministry of Health of Latvia and the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, discussed possible scenarios for the RKI’s involvement in the development of the Latvian public health specialist continuing education system (for example, through guest lectures in the fields of global health and infectious disease epidemiological surveillance), and also agreed to seek opportunities to establish a consortium and prepare joint international project applications.

RSU staff feedback on meeting with Dr. Weishaar

‘I have three key thoughts from this meeting,' Anda Ķīvīte–Urtāne, Director of the Institute of Public Health, sums up. 'First, German public health institutions are increasing human resource capacity by attracting funding in international projects, which should also be done in Latvia, considering the constant significant state budget restraints. Second, an international work environment (people from a great number of countries on different continents work at the RKI) is overall enriching and fosters generation of new ideas, thus confirming that RSU is moving in the right direction by creating a multinational staff. And third, the idea initiated by the RSU Institute of Public Health about the creation and development of a continuing education system for public health specialists in Latvia is important nationally and will allow us to engage in this process the smartest experts not only from Latvia, but also from the most prestigious international public health institutions, such as the RKI.’

Doctor of Science Ģirts Briģis adds, ‘The German federal government allocates funds for the development of public health programmes and research capacity in third (developing) countries, although it has been reduced this year due to geopolitical reasons. The information about collaboration with universities and attracting doctoral students to an institution for public health – the Robert Koch Institute – was interesting.’