Bergen Centre for Ethics and Priority Setting in Health - BCEPS

18/05/2026

❗📆 Today, 18 May 2026 at 18:00 CEST: BCEPS co-founder Ole F. Norheim (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health & Universitetet i Bergen) will speak at an official side event of the World Health Organization's World Health Assembly in Geneva. The theme of the side event is "From Global Strategy to Country Impact: Scaling Emergency, Critical and Operative Care," and it features speakers from the WHO leadership and Ministries of Health.

💻 You can follow the session online by registering here: fpc.laerdal.com/who-side-event?utm_source=Eloqua&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=&utm_content=WHA
The detailed program is also available on the registration page.

Alrek helseklynge
Det medisinske fakultet, UiB

05/05/2026

🎉 The Section for Ethics and Health Economics (ETØK), made up of BCEPS and the research group for Health Economics, Leadership, and Translational Ethics Research (HELTER), at the Universitetet i Bergen, won the Research Environment of the Year Award for 2025! 🏅

🤝 We are proud of the positive and stimulating research environment we have created together — a place where challenging and important research is done in a supportive environment and where early career researchers can grow and develop their academic careers.

👏 Current ETØK leader is Professor Oddvar Kaarboe, and the previous ETØK leader in 2025 was Professor Ingrid Miljeteig. Under their leadership, ETØK has grown into the remarkable research environment it is today.

Det medisinske fakultet, UiB
Alrek helseklynge

📷 1️⃣ by Ingrid Hagerup: Professor Oddvar Kaarboe accepting the award on behalf of all ETØK members.
📷 2️⃣ by Maria Sollohub: Current ETØK leader Oddvar Kaarboe (left) and former ETØK leader Ingrid Miljeteig (right).

23/04/2026

‼️ Open administrative position at BCEPS, Universitetet i Bergen, as Higher Executive Officer (Førstekonsulent)

👉 BCEPS is now inviting applications for a permanent, full-time (100%) position focusing on research administration.

🌍 This is an exciting opportunity to become an integrated member of an international working environment where you will use as much English as Norwegian, and the international network covers a wide range of countries.

👉 Read more and apply here: https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/300115/higher-executive-officer-at-bergen-centre-for-ethics-and-priority-setting-in-health-bceps

🌐 Applications can be sent in English or Norwegian and the position announcement is available in both languages.

📆 Application deadline: May 11, 2026

Det medisinske fakultet, UiB
Alrek helseklynge

Job title: Higher Executive Officer at Bergen Centre for Ethics and Priority Setting in Health (BCEPS) (300115), Employer: University of Bergen, Deadline: Monday, May 11, 2026

13/04/2026

‼️ Open Postdoctoral Research Fellow position at BCEPS, Universitetet i Bergen!

👉 BCEPS is now inviting applications for an open position as Postdoctoral Research Fellow. The position is full-time (100 %), with a starting date of September 1, 2026, and lasts for a period of 3 years (4 years if 1 year is spent abroad at an international institution).

📆 Application deadline: May 3, 2026

💡 The Postdoctoral Fellow will work with the Rationing Lab at BCEPS led by Professors Zeke Emanuel (University of Pennsylvania) and Ole F. Norheim (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Universitetet i Bergen).

👉 Read more and apply: https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/298793/postdoctoral-research-fellow-at-bergen-centre-for-ethics-and-priority-setting-in-health-bceps

Alrek helseklynge
Det medisinske fakultet, UiB

Job title: Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Bergen Centre for Ethics and Priority Setting in Health (BCEPS) (298793), Employer: University of Bergen, Deadline: Sunday, May 3, 2026

08/04/2026

🎉 Congratulations to Emily McLean, who successfully defended her PhD thesis on March 20 at Universitetet i Bergen and is our newest BCEPS PhD graduate! 👏 🎉

🎓 The title of her thesis is "Making abortion a priority: experiences of health workers and health bureaucrats in Ethiopia".

👏 Her main supervisor was Ingrid Miljeteig and her co-supervisors were Astrid Blystad and Alemnesh Mirkuzie.

Congratulations, Emily!

Alrek helseklynge
Det medisinske fakultet, UiB

19/03/2026

👏 BCEPS Co-Founder Ole F. Norheim was appointed to lead a new national council for priority setting and sustainability in health and social care services in Norway!

🇳🇴 The new council was established by the Norwegian government under the Helse- og omsorgsdepartementet (Norge) (Ministry of Health and Care Services) and will serve as a national forum for strategic and policy-level discussions on priority issues and long-term sustainability in the healthcare sector.

🎯 The goal of the National Council for Priority Setting and Sustainability is to strengthen public debate, foster a shared understanding of the situation among stakeholders, and provide input to the government on developments, dilemmas, and measures that can enhance the sustainability of public services.

💡 Ole F. Norheim is a physician and Mary B. Saltonstall Professor of Ethics and Population Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an Adjunct Researcher at Universitetet i Bergen.

🤝 He has been appointed to lead the new council, given his internationally recognized work in medical ethics, resource allocation, and global health, strong professional credibility, and extensive experience in making complex issues understandable to the general public.

💻 Read more here (article available in English & Norwegian):
https://www4.uib.no/en/research/research-centres/bergen-centre-for-ethics-and-priority-setting-in-health-bceps/featured/bceps-co-founder-ole-f-norheim-appointed-to-lead-new-national-council-for-priority-setting-and-sustainability-in-health-and-social-care-services-in-norway

📷 of Ole F. Norheim by Jana Wilbricht

09/03/2026

🥳 Join us in congratulating Audun Brendbekken, who successfully defended his PhD thesis on Friday, becoming our newest BCEPS PhD graduate! 🎉 🎓

💡 The title of Audun's PhD thesis is "Rare diseases, common challenges", and it examines how rare disease treatments challenge Norway’s priority-setting system, both at the national level and in clinical encounters. The findings of his dissertation can inform Norwegian policy in this area.

🤝 Audun's main supervisor was Andrea Melberg and his co-supervisors were Ole F. Norheim, Gunnar Douzgos Houge and Frode Lindemark.

🎓 Audun Brendbekken also holds a medical degree from the Universitetet i Bergen (2023) and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Norwegian School of Economics (2017). He has worked as secretary of the clinical ethics committee at Haukeland universitetssjukehus (Haukeland University Hospital).

Congratulations, Audun, we are proud of your achievement and important work!

Alrek helseklynge
Det medisinske fakultet, UiB

17/02/2026

📌 New study: "The Impoverishment Effect of Out-of-Pocket Expenditure for Hypertension in Ghana" by BCEPS PhD Research Fellow Kofi Aduo-Adjei alongside BCEPS-affiliated co-authors Øystein Ariansen Haaland, Lumbwe Chola, and James Akazili, was recently published in Health Policy Analysis: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212109925004832

💲 The study analyzed household-level survey data from 2 primary health facilities in Ghana to measure how out-of-pocket payments for hypertension care affect household poverty levels.

❗The findings underscore the urgent need for financial risk protection policies and resource prioritization to reduce the economic burden of hypertension in Ghana.

💡The study concluded that without financial protection, spending on hypertension care pushes more households into extreme poverty, highlighting the need for urgent policy intervention Ghana.

📸 Nappy Studio

30/01/2026

⏳ "We Can't Stop at Almost" — Under this theme, Nordic leaders and changemakers gathered in Stockholm at the first Gates Foundation Goalkeepers Nordics event.

🎉 BCEPS Co-founder Ole F. Norheim was honored by the Gates Foundation as a Goalkeepers Nordic Champion — an exemplary leader in global health and ethics recognized for his “influential contributions to advancing global health equity and leadership in shaping evidence-based approaches to priority setting in health systems,” as the Gates Foundation stated.

🤝 Bill Gates attended the event and is pictured here with the six Goalkeepers Nordic Champions. From left to right: Nagin Ravand, Jesper Theil Thomsen,Gunhild Anker Stordalen, Bill Gates, Ole F. Norheim, Martin Blomberg, and Asabea Britton. Photo by Dalberg Media/Gates Foundation.

💻 Read more here: https://www4.uib.no/en/research/research-centres/bergen-centre-for-ethics-and-priority-setting-in-health-bceps/featured/bceps-co-founder-ole-f-norheim-honored-by-gates-foundation-as-goalkeepers-nordic-champion

Ole F. Norheim is a Mary B. Saltonstall Professor of Ethics and Population Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an Affiliated Researcher at the Universitetet i Bergen.

👉 The Gates Foundation Goalkeepers initiative is designed to inspire progress towards achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals ( ). You can read more here: https://www.gatesfoundation.org/goalkeepers/about-event/

Det medisinske fakultet, UiB
Alrek helseklynge
Norad
Harvard University

27/01/2026

📖 👉 Today, Volume 2 of Disease Control Priorities (DCP4) was officially launched at the Prince Mahidol Award Conference in Bangkok. The title of Volume 2 is "Investing in Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response."

💻 You can download Volume 2 (or individual chapters) for free here: https://dcp4.w.uib.no/volumes/volume-2-pandemic-preparedness-prevention-and-responses/

💡 Today's launch event featured an introduction by DCP4 Series Editor Ole F. Norheim, a presentation on "Pandemic Risk" by Nita Madhav with comments by Gabriel Leung, the key messages of Volume 2 by Hitoshi Osh*tani, "Priority Interventions" by Ole F. Norheim, "Financing Pandemic Resilience" by Victoria Fan with comments by Eduardo Banzon, and a concluding panel discussion with Eduardo Banzon, Hitoshi Osh*tani, Victoria Fan, and Sid Sharma.

The Volume 2 editors are Sid Sharma, Stefano Bertozzi, Victoria Fan, Dean T. Jamison, Hitoshi Osh*tani, and Muhammad Ali Pate.

The DCP-4 series is published by World Bank Publications.

📸 : Left to right: Back row: Ole F. Norheim, Sid Sharma; Front row: Hitoshi Osh*tani, Eduardo Banzon, Nita Madhav, Victoria Fan

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Universitetet i Bergen
Det medisinske fakultet, UiB
World Bank

26/01/2026

🎉 Disease Control Priorities Fourth Edition (DCP-4) Volume 2 "Investing in Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response" officially launched!

📆 For those attending the Prince Mahidol Award Conference (PMAC 2026) in Bangkok now, there is a launch event tomorrow, January 27, 09:00-12:30 Bangkok time.
👉 Find the event details here: https://pmac-2026.com/activity/57/sidemeetingOnsite/detail

📖 You can also download the full Volume 2 or individual chapters (free and open access) here: https://dcp4.w.uib.no/volumes/volume-2-pandemic-preparedness-prevention-and-responses/

BCEPS Co-Founder Ole F. Norheim is one of the DCP4 Series Editors and editors of Volume 2 and will present at the PMAC 2026 session. Alongside Ole F. Norheim, the Volume 2 editors are Stefano Bertozzi, Victoria Fan, Dean T. Jamison, Hitoshi Osh*tani, and Muhammad Ali Pate.

The DCP-4 series is published by World Bank Publications.

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Universitetet i Bergen
Det medisinske fakultet, UiB
Alrek helseklynge