Table 1.

Study UHOs, their host institutions, key partners, and mission

Observatory name city, country (year of establishment)	Host institution	Key partners	Mission
London Health Observatory (LHO) London, England (2001)	• National Health Service (NHS)	• Central Government Ministries	• To be a population health intelligence organization
		• Local government: the Greater London Authority	• To turn routine data into health intelligence on health and health care to inform evidence-based decision-making
		• National researchers, agencies, and universities	• To provide a health knowledge signposting service and run training and capacity-building for health practitioners
		• International partners: WHO
Observatório de Saúde Urbana de Belo Horizonte (OSUBH) Belo Horizonte, Brazil (2002)	• Federal University of Minas Gerais Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)	• National Health Ministry	• To build knowledge and workforce capacity in population health research
		• Local government: Belo Horizonte Municipality	• To conduct urban-themed studies that can drive planning for improving urban health, especially in urban areas associated with intra-urban inequalities, through public policies
		• National researchers, agencies, and universities
		• International partners: universities, WHO, International Society for Urban Health (ISUH)
Observatorio del Derecho a la Salud (ODSP) Lima, Peru (2002)	• Economical and Social Research Consortium Consorcio de Investigación Económica y Social (CIES)	• Central government ministries	• To strengthen human rights and public health communities in their relationship with the academic community
		• Universities	• To produce and disseminate useful knowledge about the requirements for health, the right to health and economic and social policies
		• Civil society—ForoSalud
		• International partners
Nairobi Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System (NUHDSS) Nairobi, Kenya (2002)	• African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)	• Central government ministries	• To be a global center of excellence, consistently delivering sound scientific evidence for policy and action on population, health and education in Africa
		• Local government
		• Universities
		• NGOs
		• International partners
Observatori de la Salut Pública (OSP/ASPB) Barcelona, Spain (2004)	• Public Health Agency of Barcelona Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona (ASPB)	• Regional and state: Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces	• To develop public health activities with a high degree of interaction with service activities
		• Local government: municipalities of Catalonia, Consorci Sanitari de Barcelona, The Provincial Council of Barcelona	• To facilitate the integration of preventive care
		• International partners: WHO	• To use health information system as a key element to support the planning of health services in the city
Bangladesh Urban Health Network (BUHN) Dhaka, Bangladesh (2007)	• Bangladesh Urban Health Network (BUHN): Eminence	• NGOs	• To be a civil society network that advances the generation, exchange, and application of high-quality urban health knowledge to attain health equity in urban settings nationwide
		• Civil society
Observatorio de Salud Urbana (OSUG) Guatemala City, Guatemala (2008)	• Guatemala Municipality Municipalidad de Guatemala	• Central government ministries	• To be a multidisciplinary and multisectoral group with the objective of providing quality information for decision-making in the field of urban health
		• Local government: Guatemala City	• To promote analysis of the public policies which act as determinants of health in the municipality and propose intersectoral and inter-institutional health interventions
		• Universities
		• NGOs: Proyecto Génesis
		• International partners: PAHO/WHO, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)