Intrahealth International is a nonprofit based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, that focuses on providing support to the global health care workforce, particularly in developing countries. The group was founded in 1970 as an international training program at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

The group promotes many international contraceptive and women’s health programs in developing countries, along with programs providing support to nurses and other health care workers. The organization operates several programs and coalitions including the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition, the Frontline Health Workers Coalition, and provides a free opensource healthcare software called iHRIS.

The organization is funded by many notable left-of-center foundations including the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Oak Foundation. It also receives funding from federal government agencies including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ^{1 2}

Background

Intrahealth International was founded in 1979 as Intrah, the Program for International Training in Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. The organization’s initial focus was to provide support for international health care workforce training and the support of women’s health and contraceptive campaigns. In 2003, the organization separated with the University of North Carolina and became an independent nonprofit organization. As of 2022, the organization had an annual budget of over $88 million and supported over 800 employees across 37 counties in Africa, the Americas, and Asia. ³

Programs and Initiatives

Since its founding in 1979, Intrahealth International has operated dozens of programs in over 100 counties. Many of the organization’s programs operate in conjunction with the U.S. Agency for International Development. Current program operated by the organization include “Capacity Building to Manage Nepal Health Workforce Registry and HRMIS Using iHRIS,” “Accelerating Universal Access to Family Planning (AUAFP) in Bangladesh,” and “the USAID HIV Care and Treatment Project in El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Guatemala.” ⁴

The organization also sponsors several initiatives and projects that act as independent organizations under the group’s umbrella. These include Switchpoint, a global health and humanitarian response conference that is hosted near the Intrahealth headquarters in North Carolina annually and the Ouagadougou Partnership, a coalition to promote family planning in nine French-speaking West African countries. ^{5 6}

The organization also operates two technology projects: an opensource healthcare software called iHRIS, and a mobile phone communications system that connects government health agencies and healthcare workers called mHero. ^{7 8}

Frontline Health Workers Coalition

Intrahealth International also operates the Frontline Health Workers Coalition, an advocacy group comprised of other international development organizations and funders that has called on the Biden administration to fund a variety of international aid programs and strongly supported the administration’s $1 billion Healthcare Worker Initiative. ^{9 10 11}

Members of the coalition include Abt Associates, Johnson and Johnson, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, CARE, and Women Deliver. ¹²

Funding

Funders of Intrahealth International include large left-of-center grantmaking foundations, pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, and government agencies. Funders of the organization include the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Bayer Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation, Cigna, DAI, the Duke Center for International Development, the Global Fund to Fight Aids, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Johnson and Johnson, Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Netherlands Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation, the Oak Foundation, Population Action International, Safe Surgery 2020, the UK Department of International Development, and UNICEF. ¹³

1. “About.” Intrahealth International. Accessed May 19, 2022. https://www.intrahealth.org/about-intrahealth-international
2. “Programs.” Intrahealth International. Accessed May 19, 2022. https://www.intrahealth.org/programs
3. “About IntraHealth International.” IntraHealth International. Accessed June 2,2022. https://www.intrahealth.org/about-intrahealth-international
4. “Programs.” Intrahealth International. Accessed May 19, 2022. https://www.intrahealth.org/programs
5. “Our Story.” Ouagadougou Partnership. Accessed May 19, 2022. https://partenariatouaga.org/en/our-story/
6. “About.” Switchpoint Ideas. Accessed May 19, 2022 https://event.switchpointideas.com/about
7. “Overview.” mHero. Accessed May 19, 2022. https://www.mhero.org/overview
8. “About.” iHRIS. Accessed May 19, 2022 https://www.ihris.org/about
9. “FHWC Response to President Biden’s Proposed Health Workforce Initiative.” Frontline Health Workers Coalition. Accessed May 19, 2022. https://www.frontlinehealthworkers.org/sites/fhw/files/fhwc_statement_on_biden_budget.pdf
10. “Our Members.” Frontline Health Workers Coalition. Accessed May 19, 2022.  https://www.frontlinehealthworkers.org/our-members
11. Muriuki, Janet and Bryden, David. “The Global Health Workforce Should Be at the Center of New White House Initiative.” Intrahealth International. February 10, 2022. Accessed May 19, 2022. https://www.intrahealth.org/vital/global-health-workforce-should-be-center-new-white-house-initiative
12. “Our Members.” Frontline Health Workers Coalition. Accessed May 19, 2022.  https://www.frontlinehealthworkers.org/our-members
13. “About.” Intrahealth International. Accessed May 19, 2022. https://www.intrahealth.org/about-intrahealth-international