Redesignation of the WHO Collaborating Centre until 2026

The World Health Organization has redesignated the WHO Collaborating Centre (WHO CC) for Physical Activity and Public Health at FAU’s Department of Sport Science and Sport until March 2026. The Department was first designated as a WHO CC in 2014, and is one of only three Collaborating Centres that are entirely dedicated to the topic of physical activity.  

The WHO Regional Director for Europe, Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, expressed his gratitude for the valuable support over the past years to the President of FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, Prof. Dr. Joachim Hornegger. As in previous years, PD Dr. Karim Abu-Omar and PD Dr. Peter Gelius will lead the WHO Collaborating Centre that is linked to the Chair of Prof. Dr. Klaus Pfeifer – as co-directors. 

In the next four years, the WHO CC for Physical Activity and Public Health will support the World Health Organization in the following areas:  

  1. Assist WHO to support and collaborate with countries in the area of physical activity policy development and implementation. 
  2. Supporting the tracking of progress in developing and implementing policies for physical activity promotion (physical activity policy monitoring) 
  3. Supporting the collection and analysis of European and global physical activity surveillance data 
  4. Supporting to align physical activity promotion to global challenges 
  5. Support specific physical activity promotion measures for people with non-communicable diseases