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Novo Nordisk Foundation establishes a new advisory panel for its humanitarian grants

Five leading Danish and international experts will advise the Foundation on awarding grants for humanitarian purposes and development aid initiatives.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation has established a new advisory panel that will advise the Foundation on strategic issues and considerations related to the Foundation awarding grants for humanitarian purposes and development aid initiatives.

The Humanitarian and Development Aid Advisory Panel is being created because the Foundation has significantly increased its grants for humanitarian purposes in recent years. The Foundation plans to gradually increase its total annual payments for humanitarian purposes to DKK 200 million in 2023.

The Panel is broadly based and includes both Danish and international experts with many years of experience in their respective fields. These expert members have strong international networks and extensive knowledge across various aspects of humanitarian initiatives, including health, sustainability and human rights. They also have insight into local conditions in the areas in which the Foundation operates. The members are:

  • Kenneth Roth, Executive Director, Human Rights Watch
  • Bassem Saad, CEO, Queen Rania Foundation, Jordan
  • Lise Kingo, former CEO and Director, United Nations Global Compact
  • Flemming Konradsen, Professor, Department of Public Health and Director, School of Global Health, University of Copenhagen
  • Trine Rask Thygesen, State Secretary for Development Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark

Lars Munch will represent the Foundation’s Board of Directors on the Panel, which will be chaired by Hanna Line Jakobsen, Senior Vice President, Novo Nordisk Foundation.

“We have established the new advisory panel to benefit from the extensive experience, insight and networks of its members. The goal is to strengthen the implementation of our strategy and specific programmes, so that these can be as effective as possible for the people and countries we want to help,” explains Hanne Line Jakobsen, Senior Vice President and Head of the Foundation’s grants for humanitarian and social purposes.

“The Novo Nordisk Foundation is in a development phase, and as a new and serious actor in the humanitarian field, we think that it is important to listen to and engage with leading capacities in the fields in which we work,” says Hanne Line Jakobsen.

Since 2019, the Foundation has had two special priorities in its humanitarian grants and development aid initiatives. One is to improve the future prospects of young refugees and other vulnerable adolescents in areas and countries affected by the conflict in Syria. These projects are being carried out in Jordan. The second priority is to combat noncommunicable diseases in the same region and in eastern Africa. These projects are currently being carried out in Jordan and Tanzania. The Foundation also distributes emergency aid for projects worldwide.

A study conducted by the Foundation shows that, from 2014 to 2019, more than 800,000 people in deprived parts of the world have benefitted from humanitarian projects supported by the Foundation.

Further information

Christian Mostrup, Senior Programme Lead, +45 3067 4805, [email protected]