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GSPA  How we mobilised over 30 countries 

4 July 2026

🌐 Part 1: Building the Foundation — How We Mobilized over 30 Countries Based on Trust

Publish Date: June 22, 2026

True movements are not manufactured by institutional decrees; they are built on the ground through shared values, radical collaboration, and absolute transparency. When we set out to build a global framework for preventative health, the vision was simple: connect grassroots communities with top-tier international expertise to make social prescribing a reality worldwide.

In 2020, World Health Innovation Summit (WHIS CIC) entered into a collaborative alliance with the National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP) in England to establish the Global Social Prescribing Alliance (GSPA). What followed was a historic expansion of cross-border health infrastructure.

The Milestones of an Independent Movement

By combining WHIS’s pre-existing international networks with our partners’ foundational resources, we achieved what many thought impossible for an independent project within 36 months:

  • Global Scaling: We successfully onboarded national partners across more than 30 (and eventually 40) countries, creating a standardized framework for global health delivery.
  • Elite Institutional Backing: Our infrastructure was immediately validated and co-funded alongside the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Global Sustainability Index Institute (UNGSII).
  • Empowering the Next Generation: We authored and launched the Global Social Prescribing Alliance Playbook* *and Student Playbook, creating an international, peer-led student movement operating via live global webinars.
  • The Global Policy Stage: We formally presented these co-authored frameworks at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, the 11th World Urban Forum(WUF), and international G20 policy hubs, cementing social prescribing as a pillar of future systemic health.

A Chronology Summary of Global Collaboration (2021–2023)

Our digital footprint stands as an unalterable archive of how this global architecture was woven together by international leaders across medicine, pharmacy, state policy, and community action.

**1) The Global Healthcare Student Webinar (February 7, 2021)

**We hosted a global dialogue for healthcare students on UN Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health & Wellbeing), where we explored how the pandemic shaped the future of patient care and systemic resilience.

  • Hosts: Gareth Presch (CEO, WHIS) & Dr. Bogdan Chiva Giurca.
  • Expert Panel: Dr. Mike Dixon (GP & Chair, College of Medicine), Anya de Iongh (Self-Management Coach), and Daisy Kirtley (Lead, SP Champion Scheme).
  • Focus: Discussed adaptive strategies for patients and clinicians, explored the promotion of well-being across all ages, and highlighted the role of the next generation of healthcare leaders.
  • Global Engagement: Connected with students from Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, England, UAE, Hong Kong, Japan, USA, Thailand, Lebanon, and beyond.

2) The Official Global Launch (March 10, 2021)

The Global Social Prescribing Alliance was formally launched by the UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. The launch broadcast established the multi-sector, international blueprint for the movement.

  • Introductory Overview: Gareth Presch (CEO, WHIS) & James Sanderson (CEO, NASP)
  • Keynote Address: The Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP (UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care)
  • International Strategy: Isabelle Wachsmuth (World Health Organization) & Roland Schatz (CEO, UNGSII)
  • Sector Leadership: The Rt Revd James Newcome (Bishop of Carlisle), Jenny Mollica (English National Opera), Dr Sarah Elkin (Imperial College London), Dr Jagan John (NHS London), and Prof Helen Stokes-Lampard (Chair, NASP).

3) Global Solutions Initiative Foundation Summit — G20 Alignment (June 11, 2021)

We aligned our frameworks with G20 priorities, addressing international policy spaces on moving forward during COVID-19 while actively implementing UN SDG3 (Good Health & Wellbeing).

  • Panelists: James Sanderson (CEO, NASP / Director of Personalised Care, NHS England), Roland Schatz (CEO and Founder, UNGSII Foundation), and Päivi Sillanaukee (Ambassador for Health and Wellbeing, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Finland).
  • Moderator: Gareth Presch (CEO, World Health Innovation Summit).

4) World Health Summit — Kampala, Uganda (June 2021)

WHIS championed the integration of social prescribing strategies onto regional public health agendas during the height of global pandemic pressures.

  • Session Chair: Gareth Presch (Founder and CEO, WHIS / Expert Lead SDG3/4 UNGSII Foundation / Member of Pope Francis’s Vatican COVID-19 Commission Group 2).
  • Focus: Analyzing the structural impact of COVID-19 Public Health Control on overarching UN SDG implementation progress.

5) Australian and UK Social Prescribing Champions Scheme Webinar (2021)

We rapidly connected sovereign clinical leaders to build international medical student pathways, featuring global wellness pioneers and national preventative health chairs.

  • Key Contributors: Gareth Presch (Founder, GSPA), James Sanderson (NHS England), Dr Bogdan Chiva Giurca (Founder, NHS Social Prescribing Champion Scheme), Prof Rob Moodie (Melbourne School of Population and Global Health / Advisor to WHO), Prof Mark Morgan (Chair, RACGP Expert Committee for Quality Care, Australia), Assoc Prof Charlotte Hespe (RACGP Board Director), alongside national medical student leaders Jasmine Davis and Grace Newman (University of Melbourne).

6) The Global Social Prescribing Student Framework Launch (2021)

A culmination of many months of work between our various partners, this launch mobilized global medical education networks around the UN Sustainable Development Goals to fundamentally improve healthcare delivery around the globe.

  • Moderator: Gareth Presch (CEO, WHIS)
  • Clinical Lead: Dr Bogdan Chiva Giurca (Global Alliance & Clinical Champion Lead)
  • Global Academic & Student Panelists: Rania Fernandes (University of Dundee Regional Lead, Scotland / NHS National SP Student Champion), Sonia Epstein, Varshini Odayar, & Rachel Chen (Harvard University, Global Health and Health Policy, USA), Adeline Kwan & Associate Professor Kheng Hock Lee (Office of Community Engagement & Education, SingHealth Community Hospitals / Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore), Grace Newman (AMSA, The University of Melbourne, Australia), Lavinia Cheng Mun Porter (Swansea University, Wales), Sai Ramesh (Keele University, UK), Pal Shah, Michelle Ko Shi Min, & Alyssa Marion Chua Jia-Min (Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore), Taiki Yamamoto (Sophia University, Japan), and Asuka Sakagami (Aichi Medical University, Japan).

7) The Global Fitness Integration Strategy (2021)

To support the post-COVID19 recovery and anchor UN Sustainable Development Goal 3, we brought together international fitness sector leads and architectural pioneers.

  • Panelists: Gareth Presch (CEO, WHIS), Bev Taylor (NASP), Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson (Chair, ukactive), Huw Edwards (CEO, ukactive), Prof Sir Muir Gray (Director of Optimal Ageing), and Jean-Guy De Gabriac (Founder, World Wellness Weekend).
![](/scraped/_assets/abb17ca989e4-473336347_3502443410052563_346527854382744814)

8) International Student Champion Mobilization (May 14, 2021)

We replicated our peer-led student model across continental Europe, onboarding academic leads and medical student associations to build cross-border clinical infrastructure.

  • Panelists: Dr Cristiano Figueiredo (Lisbon Social Prescribing Coordinator / NOVA National School of Public Health), Dr Bogdan Chiva Giurca (Clinical Champion Lead, NASP), Madalena Melo (NOVA Medical School, Lisbon), Ana Fagundes (AEFML, Lisbon), and Rania Fernandes (President, ENTDundee). Moderated by Gareth Presch.

9) The International Social Prescribing Show (March 4, 2022)

Held at the Southbank Centre in London, this international showcase brought together global academic and clinical directors to demonstrate the scalable reality of our shared models.

  • Chaired by: Dr Bogdan Chiva Giurca (GSPA Development Lead)
  • Contributors: James Sanderson (NASP), Gareth Presch (WHIS), Sian Slade (University of Melbourne), Dr Kate Mulligan (Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Canada), Dr Lee Kheng Hock (SingHealth Community Hospitals, Singapore), Dr Marie Polley (Social Prescribing Network), Dr Anne Hunt (NASP), and Prof Helen Chatterjee (UCL).

10. UN Palais des Nations — International Arts & SDGs Address (June 14, 2022)

Gareth Presch addressed international delegates as an invited speaker during the formal opening ceremony of the “Art To Be Alive” International Art Exhibit at the United Nations Palace in Geneva, anchoring the cultural dimensions of the global alliance within international diplomatic circles.

  • 🔗[ Official United Nations Event Registry

11. Sovereign Onboarding: Vienna, Austria (June 2022)

In June 2022, Gareth Presch traveled to Austria to meet directly with the Austrian Government and their national health agencies. This historic deployment marked the official entry of national health ministries directly into the GSPA onboarding pipeline.

2022 - International Deployment - Praevenire Healthcare Journal (Austria): Good Health, Wellbeing and the UN SDGs - WHIS-GSPA 25-Country platform architecture, knowledge management systems, and global scaling framework

12. The Official GSPA Global Promo (November 2, 2022)

As our international footprint solidified, we released our unified baseline media presentation, outlining the 40-country scope and the decentralized multi-sector framework of the movement.

13. Pharmacy Social Prescribing Conference (2022)

This milestone event expanded our clinical reach into global pharmacy networks, featuring key addresses from UN bodies defining the structural core of the alliance.

  • Featured Address: Isabelle Wachsmuth (World Health Organization) detailing the strategic global scope of the Global Social Prescribing Alliance.

14. Arts for Brain Health Global Conference (December 6, 2022)

We closed out 2022 by embedding our frameworks into specialized clinical care, partnering with international arts-in-health networks to safeguard cognitive longevity.

  • Featured Speakers: Dr Michael Dixon (Chair, College of Medicine), Mr Michael Dooley (Treasurer, College of Medicine), and Dr Bogdan Chiva Giurca (Lead for Junior Doctors), hosted by VeronicArts and Arts 4 Dementia (A4D) in formal partnership with the GSPA.

The Integrity of the Architecture

A global network thrives because its members trust that their local efforts feed into an honest, open, and collaborative architecture. This foundation belongs entirely to the co-authors, the sovereign clinical leads, the student pioneers, the pharmacy networks, and the 30-plus nations who poured their sweat equity into the initial blueprint.

No individual or single agency can retrospectively claim exclusive ownership over an ecosystem built on the collective trust of the global medical community.

In our next piece, dropping on July 3rd, we will highlight the continued growth of the GSPA and look at the exact unalterable documents, legal recommendations, and match-funding structures that were contractually designed to transition this shared international infrastructure into an independent global vehicle.

Global Social Prescribing Alliance — Further Reading & Historical Context

For a deeper look into the chronological architecture, statutory integration, and peer-reviewed evidence base of the global social prescribing movement from 2020 to the present day, please explore the following records: