DIFÄM Specialist Advice

As a specialised agency for global health work, DIFÄM offers monitoring and support for health projects worldwide. We also contribute our expertise to projects with health components. This service is aimed at all those who are involved in development cooperation. With a wide range of professional methods and competencies, we advise on all questions of health and development. Current issues are also important to us, such as the impact of the climate crisis on health.

Our focus areas

Primary Health Care with local communities

Health and development need community participation. DIFÄM has many years of experience in successfully implementing this dialogue for primary health care. Through this, communities participate in the planning, construction and monitoring of health facilities. Community nursing involves relatives and patients in the treatment process and supports the health system in times of crisis (e.g. Covid-19). Community-based health work is an integral part of all community-based development tasks. Mental health, alcohol and drug addictions are other important issues that are also addressed at a community level.

Strengthening of health systems

We offer expert opinions and advice on projects in the field of health system strengthening. We focus on the WHO's six modules for a resilient health system: policies, health financing, strengthening staff through education and training, improving infrastructure, as well as quality assurance and reporting.

Digital methods are playing an increasingly important role in documentation and knowledge transfer. We use them to improve the quality of health care. We work together with Christian health networks in particular, but also with other non-governmental organisations, churches and government agencies.

Supply of medicines

We support the development of church-based central pharmacies, especially in Africa, in close cooperation with the Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network (EPN). Access to good quality medicines for all people is an important concern for us.

A focus of our work is the education and training of staff as well as the quality assurance of medicines, for which we also use micro-labs (minilabs) on site and work closely with government agencies and the WHO.

With this expertise, we advise health providers and health networks on pharmaceutical issues, and we support the procurement of essential medicines, pharmaceutical raw materials, laboratory materials and equipment for the production of medicines.

Improved clinical care

In our medical projects, we focus on the well-being of people - patients as well as healthcare workers. That's why we also use digital channels that allow new approaches to learning and documentation. With our expertise, we advise on disease prevention, diagnostics, therapy and rehabilitation. We also have extensive expertise on malaria, tuberculosis and HIV, non-communicable diseases as well as mother-child health and other topics. Surgical care, palliative care, patient safety and infection prevention and control, as well as antimicrobial stewardship, epidemic preparedness and other current topics complete the range of our services.

Our advisory services at a glance

• Advice on health issues or their integration into development programmes
• Expert opinions on project applications and reports with health issues
• Evaluations and technical analyses of projects and programmes
• Workshops on health issues (NCDs, health system strengthening, HIV, mental health and primary health care)
• Advice to local partners on planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of health projects
• Advice on special emergencies with health issues
• Advice on health issues for expatriates

Contact us now

Tell us about your request by e-mail to Olaf Hirschmann. We will advise you individually and free of charge.

We have developed and compiled publications on topics related to international health work and project approaches. You can use these publications for information and for sharing. If you are interested in the brochures on

Home Based Care

ASSET approach

just write an email to info(at)difaem.de

Medbox as an online library

A quick response to current emergency situations requires information on the course of diseases and on appropriate emergency measures. In thetoolbox of the online library MedBox you will find educational posters, generic checklists, instructions on how to deal with different diseases, as well as regulations and guidelines of the respective ministries of health of the countries concerned.

The online library is a joint project of 15 German organisations and institutions. It bundles high-quality and practically relevant documents and medical literature for practical work in humanitarian emergency aid. The rapid access to documents freely available on Internet helps to achieve the goals of quality assurance in health care and the dissemination of international standards in emergency aid.