The goal of the IPHU is to contribute to the struggle for ‘health for all’ by strengthening people’s health movements around the globe. 

. by organising and resourcing opportunities for learning, sharing and planning for activists in the global people's health movement, particularly for activists from Third World countries; and

. by sponsoring and coordinating research into the conditions for health for all including decent health care.

Present Short Course Opportunities. IPHU works with local partners to present short course opportunities for health activists. 

IPHU has on going program of short courses planned for presention in different cities over the short to medium term. These vary in both duration and content.

IPHU does not plan on accrediting degree courses in the short to medium term. Rather IPHU works provides course documentation for students to use in seeking credit from their 'home universities'.

Generate and Make Available a Library of Educational Resources. IPHU is accumulating a library of educational resources including lectures, references and teaching modules which are available for local activist organisations and teaching institutions to draw from (and contribute to) in the context of presenting local learning and sharing opportunities. 

Sponsor Research and Research Synthesis. IPHU sponsors and coordinates research programs including:

. strategic empirical research into population health and health care questions which confront the people’s health movement;

. action research and action learning networks around the practicalities of health activist work and

. research synthesis to make research findings accessible and applicable to health activists within the people’s health movement.

Much of the research synthesis sponsored by the IPHU takes place in the course of preparing short course topics and modules. The need for new research and research synthesis arises in the context of discussions within courses as students and teachers work through issues of analysis and strategy.

IPHU has a strong commitment to action research as an approach to improving practice and to action learning as a way of structuring ongoing reflection and learning into our practice.

While the need for various research initiatives may be identified within the forums of IPHU and may be facilitated, coordinated and encouraged through IPHU it is carried out by ad hoc networks based on the faculty and alumni of the IPHU and hosted largely in affiliated organisations. Three priority research topics were identified through the IPHU Short Course in Cuenca in 2005. These were Trade and Health, Evidence Base for PHC, and Health as a Human Right.

Short Course Evaluation Framework IPHU has developed a Short Course Evaluation Framework and proforma questionnaires for use in the evaluation of short courses. Download the Cuenca Evaluation Report here.