40 years ago today, a group of medical students united to focus on global public health. Since then, we have grown into an international lobbying organisation that is strongly committed to advocating the right to health for all.
In 1979, a group of critical medical students at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam gave a series of lectures on the extent to which tropical doctors in low- and middle-income countries formed a long-term solution to public health problems. At the two-day conference on ‘Health and Politics in Developing Countries’ at the University of Amsterdam, it became clear that there was great interest in this issue. Shortly afterwards, Wemos became an official foundation that aimed to draw attention to the discussion on this subject.
In the 1980s, Wemos made a success of the Organon case. In the 1990s, the organisation focused on issues such as equal access to healthcare and advocacy, as well as lobbying activities at the European level. From 2000 onwards, Wemos sought out partnerships with organisations in low- and middle-income countries. And from 2010 onwards, Wemos repositioned itself as a global health advocate. Over the years, the goal has always remained the same: to improve public health.
