About us

hera is an international multidisciplinary team of highly skilled professionals bringing together a broad spectrum of expertise in health and development research, programming, monitoring, evaluation and policy development.

hera believes in partnership, involving its clients, the public, civil society and private sectors in developing problem-solving and evidence-based strategies. Active since 1990, hera has contributed to strengthening the health and development sectors in more than 100 countries across the world.

hera is proud to be an independent cooperative company working with a network of experts, research organisations, governments, NGOs and public health institutions to promote the right to health and development for all.

Our vision

hera envisages a world where every person is able to realise their rights to health and development.

Our mission

hera will work towards fostering the right to health and development, including timely access to appropriate health care and health-promoting services that address the social determinants of health through:

  • Providing advice to governments, civil society organisations and the private sector in the fields of policy, systems, logistics, financing, training, technology and research, related to health services, development and human rights;

  • Providing advice, programming and assessment/evaluation services to international partners engaging in social development strategies, health, and human rights strategies and programmes;

  • Contributing to national, regional and global discussions on sustainable, efficient and equitable ways to improve health, development and human rights for all;

  • Ensuring participation, ownership, capacity building, coaching and transfer of knowledge and tools to stakeholders in all our assignments; and

  • Applying evidence-based approaches.

Values

In all of our work, hera focuses on the community and the people who are the ultimate beneficiary. hera partners, associates, employees and consultants work together to implement this mission and adhere to the following values:

  • Equality and diversity;

  • Partnership for development, i.e. developing problem-solving and evidence-based strategies and solutions is a joint effort of hera and its local partners/clients;

  • Respect for the local cultural, political, and socio-economic environment;

  • Quality;

  • Independence;

  • Positive change.

Commitments

  • We are influential in health, development and human rights policy at local, national, regional and global level.

  • We contribute to building the capacity of duty bearers to provide equitable access to health services.

  • We listen to, integrate and advocate the views and priorities of rights holders in our work.

  • We integrate local content and knowledge in our practice.

  • In 2018 hera signed the UN Global Compact and we remain committed to ensuring that the ten principles of the compact are part of the strategy, culture and day-to-day operations of our company. Read more on our Global Compact profile page UN Global Compact.

  • hera is a member of the International Development Evaluation Association (IDEAS), a global professional association for internationally active development evaluators.

  • hera is a signatory of the Women Empowerment Principles, an initiative from UN Women and the UN Global Compact. As a longstanding rights-based organisation, gender equality and women's empowerment has always been central to our work, and we will continue to call for gender equity and will safeguard women’s rights and human rights.

Right to health and development

Right to health includes both timely access to appropriate health care and related social determinants of health such as:

  • Access to safe and potable water

  • Adequate sanitation

  • Supply of safe food, nutrition and housing

  • Healthy occupational and environmental conditions (including as a result of climate change)

  • Access to health-related education and information, including on gender, gender-based violence and sexual and reproductive health.

The right to development is an inalienable human right by virtue of which every human person and all people are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized.

Both the right to health and development is to be understood and supported within the local cultural context, taking into account the views of local civil society.

The right to health and development is closely related to and dependent on the realisation of other human rights, including:

  • The right to food, housing, work, education, and participation

  • The enjoyment of the benefits of scientific progress and its applications

  • Non-discrimination

  • Equality

  • The prohibition against torture

  • Privacy

  • Access to information

  • The freedoms of association, assembly and movement

hera believes that governments, civil society and individuals should meet their responsibilities as rights holders and duty bearers of the right to health and development.

hera recognises that higher income countries have a duty to support lower income countries towards achieving the right to health and development. Such international cooperation should be based on sovereign equality and mutual respect.