Senior Advisor, Institute of Public Health, Norway

Christine Årdal MBA PhD has worked for over 20 years on access to medicines through different sectors, including research institutes, governmental development assistance, pharmacy, national health service and insurance. At the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, her research focuses on the policy aspects of antimicrobial access and innovation. Årdal was a co-lead in the DRIVE-AB research project which aimed to transform the way policymakers stimulate innovation, the sustainable use, and the equitable availability of novel antibiotics to meet unmet public health needs. She is currently the co-lead of the research and innovation work package for the European Union’s Joint Action on Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare-Associated Infections (EU-JAMRAI), which aims to detail European strategies to implement mechanisms to increase antibiotic and alternative therapeutic innovation. Previously she was a member of the World Health Organization expert review panel for the overall programme review of the Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property. She led the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation’s (Norad) efforts within the UN Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children.