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This document sets out PHE's approach to global health for the next 5 years, and provides a framework for its international engagement.

Global Health Strategy 2014 to 2019

Engaging in Global Health provides information and advice to those working in the health sector about the opportunities and benefits of international volunteering.

Engaging in Global Health : The Framework for Voluntary Engagement in Global Health by the UK Health Sector

Tackling a global health crisis : initial steps

The Map of Health


This image shows a map of the world with each area made up of human tissue relating to the main health problems within those areas.



North America struggles with rising obesity, and therefore this area is made up of adipose tissue (fat).



Central and South America are represented by pulmonary tissue (lungs); smoking and respiratory infections are a leading cause of death here.



Europe, with its ageing population, suffers greatly from neurodegenerative diseases, including dementia (neurones, brain tissue).



Large areas of the middle East and central Asia are shown here as cardiac muscle (heart), as these regions are afflicted with rising levels of hypertension and other causes of heart and cardiovascular failure.



The far East and the Pacific are made up of pancreatic acinar tissue; its failure causes diabetes, a major problem in this area, frequently described as a diabetes epidemic.



And Africa is made of blood here. The only continent where the leading cause of death are transmittable diseases (infections), notably malaria and HIV.



There are 5 hidden mitochondria in the map. They are the organelles inside our cells responsible for energy generation. Mitochondrial research will play an important role over the coming years!


Cellular level art, paint on silk, digitised.

Map of health

Proceedings of the International Sanitary Conference : provided for by joint resolution of the Senate and House of Representatives in the early part of 1881.

World map in the form of an FFA (Fundus Fluorscein Angiography) of the retina

World map in the form of an FFA of the retina

Global burden of disease and risk factors

This publication addresses research questions related to an increase in the levels of access and utilization for four key interventions that have the potential to significantly reduce HIV infections among People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) and their sexual and injecting partners, and hence morbidity and mortality in low and middle-income countries (LMIC). These interventions are drawn from nine consensus interventions that comprise a 'comprehensive package' for PWID. The four interventions are: Needle and Syringe Programs (NSP), Medically Assisted Therapy (MAT), HIV Counseling and Testing (HCT), and Antiretroviral Therapy (ART). The book summarizes the results from several recent reviews of studies related to the effectiveness of the four key interventions in reducing risky behaviors in the context of transmitting or acquiring HIV infection.

The global HIV epidemics among people who inject drugs

"1000 Handshakes" is a performance piece during which the artist shakes hands with as many people as possible, gradually changing the invisible microbial community in the palm of his hand. Periodically, assistants take a swab from the skin, and the samples are analyzed in the lab to reveal how our contact with others shapes the microbes between us. This ongoing project has been performed in different cities around the world (including Copenhagen, Montreal, San Francisco, Perth, Berlin and Baltimore) as a way to map our collective microbiome using scientific data.



Production of the 'microbiome selfies' involved many different steps. Following the collection of the microbiome samples, bacterial DNA was extracted, amplified and sequenced to create the bioinformatic data shown in this series. The nodes of the networks represent bacterial DNA sequences, and two nodes are connected by an edge (line) when the bacterial DNA sequences have more than 95% similarity. The different colours correspond to distinct samples collected at every 50th handshake, from 0 to 1001. 



This image corresponds to the 12th image in this 21-part series, showing the extensive microbiome resulting from 550 handshakes.

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

"1000 Handshakes" is a performance piece during which the artist shakes hands with as many people as possible, gradually changing the invisible microbial community in the palm of his hand. Periodically, assistants take a swab from the skin, and the samples are analyzed in the lab to reveal how our contact with others shapes the microbes between us. This ongoing project has been performed in different cities around the world (including Copenhagen, Montreal, San Francisco, Perth, Berlin and Baltimore) as a way to map our collective microbiome using scientific data.



Production of the 'microbiome selfies' involved many different steps. Following the collection of the microbiome samples, bacterial DNA was extracted, amplified and sequenced to create the bioinformatic data shown in this series. The nodes of the networks represent bacterial DNA sequences, and two nodes are connected by an edge (line) when the bacterial DNA sequences have more than 95% similarity. The different colours correspond to distinct samples collected at every 50th handshake, from 0 to 1001. 



This image corresponds to the 10th image in this 21-part series, showing the extensive microbiome resulting from 450 handshakes.

"1000 Handshakes" is a performance piece during which the artist shakes hands with as many people as possible, gradually changing the invisible microbial community in the palm of his hand. Periodically, assistants take a swab from the skin, and the samples are analyzed in the lab to reveal how our contact with others shapes the microbes between us. This ongoing project has been performed in different cities around the world (including Copenhagen, Montreal, San Francisco, Perth, Berlin and Baltimore) as a way to map our collective microbiome using scientific data.



Production of the 'microbiome selfies' involved many different steps. Following the collection of the microbiome samples, bacterial DNA was extracted, amplified and sequenced to create the bioinformatic data shown in this series. The nodes of the networks represent bacterial DNA sequences, and two nodes are connected by an edge (line) when the bacterial DNA sequences have more than 95% similarity. The different colours correspond to distinct samples collected at every 50th handshake, from 0 to 1001. 



This image corresponds to the 2nd image in this 21-part series, showing the extensive microbiome resulting from 50 handshakes.

"1000 Handshakes" is a performance piece during which the artist shakes hands with as many people as possible, gradually changing the invisible microbial community in the palm of his hand. Periodically, assistants take a swab from the skin, and the samples are analyzed in the lab to reveal how our contact with others shapes the microbes between us. This ongoing project has been performed in different cities around the world (including Copenhagen, Montreal, San Francisco, Perth, Berlin and Baltimore) as a way to map our collective microbiome using scientific data.



Production of the 'microbiome selfies' involved many different steps. Following the collection of the microbiome samples, bacterial DNA was extracted, amplified and sequenced to create the bioinformatic data shown in this series. The nodes of the networks represent bacterial DNA sequences, and two nodes are connected by an edge (line) when the bacterial DNA sequences have more than 95% similarity. The different colours correspond to distinct samples collected at every 50th handshake, from 0 to 1001. 



This image corresponds to the 9th image in this 21-part series, showing the extensive microbiome resulting from 400 handshakes.

"1000 Handshakes" is a performance piece during which the artist shakes hands with as many people as possible, gradually changing the invisible microbial community in the palm of his hand. Periodically, assistants take a swab from the skin, and the samples are analyzed in the lab to reveal how our contact with others shapes the microbes between us. This ongoing project has been performed in different cities around the world (including Copenhagen, Montreal, San Francisco, Perth, Berlin and Baltimore) as a way to map our collective microbiome using scientific data.



Production of the 'microbiome selfies' involved many different steps. Following the collection of the microbiome samples, bacterial DNA was extracted, amplified and sequenced to create the bioinformatic data shown in this series. The nodes of the networks represent bacterial DNA sequences, and two nodes are connected by an edge (line) when the bacterial DNA sequences have more than 95% similarity. The different colours correspond to distinct samples collected at every 50th handshake, from 0 to 1001. 



This image corresponds to the 11th image in this 21-part series, showing the extensive microbiome resulting from 500 handshakes.

"1000 Handshakes" is a performance piece during which the artist shakes hands with as many people as possible, gradually changing the invisible microbial community in the palm of his hand. Periodically, assistants take a swab from the skin, and the samples are analyzed in the lab to reveal how our contact with others shapes the microbes between us. This ongoing project has been performed in different cities around the world (including Copenhagen, Montreal, San Francisco, Perth, Berlin and Baltimore) as a way to map our collective microbiome using scientific data.



Production of the 'microbiome selfies' involved many different steps. Following the collection of the microbiome samples, bacterial DNA was extracted, amplified and sequenced to create the bioinformatic data shown in this series. The nodes of the networks represent bacterial DNA sequences, and two nodes are connected by an edge (line) when the bacterial DNA sequences have more than 95% similarity. The different colours correspond to distinct samples collected at every 50th handshake, from 0 to 1001. 



This image corresponds to the 17th image in this 21-part series, showing the extensive microbiome resulting from 800 handshakes.

"1000 Handshakes" is a performance piece during which the artist shakes hands with as many people as possible, gradually changing the invisible microbial community in the palm of his hand. Periodically, assistants take a swab from the skin, and the samples are analyzed in the lab to reveal how our contact with others shapes the microbes between us. This ongoing project has been performed in different cities around the world (including Copenhagen, Montreal, San Francisco, Perth, Berlin and Baltimore) as a way to map our collective microbiome using scientific data.



Production of the 'microbiome selfies' involved many different steps. Following the collection of the microbiome samples, bacterial DNA was extracted, amplified and sequenced to create the bioinformatic data shown in this series. The nodes of the networks represent bacterial DNA sequences, and two nodes are connected by an edge (line) when the bacterial DNA sequences have more than 95% similarity. The different colours correspond to distinct samples collected at every 50th handshake, from 0 to 1001. 



This image corresponds to the 18th image in this 21-part series, showing the extensive microbiome resulting from 850 handshakes.

"1000 Handshakes" is a performance piece during which the artist shakes hands with as many people as possible, gradually changing the invisible microbial community in the palm of his hand. Periodically, assistants take a swab from the skin, and the samples are analyzed in the lab to reveal how our contact with others shapes the microbes between us. This ongoing project has been performed in different cities around the world (including Copenhagen, Montreal, San Francisco, Perth, Berlin and Baltimore) as a way to map our collective microbiome using scientific data.



Production of the 'microbiome selfies' involved many different steps. Following the collection of the microbiome samples, bacterial DNA was extracted, amplified and sequenced to create the bioinformatic data shown in this series. The nodes of the networks represent bacterial DNA sequences, and two nodes are connected by an edge (line) when the bacterial DNA sequences have more than 95% similarity. The different colours correspond to distinct samples collected at every 50th handshake, from 0 to 1001. 



This image corresponds to the 5th image in this 21-part series, showing the extensive microbiome resulting from 200 handshakes.

"1000 Handshakes" is a performance piece during which the artist shakes hands with as many people as possible, gradually changing the invisible microbial community in the palm of his hand. Periodically, assistants take a swab from the skin, and the samples are analyzed in the lab to reveal how our contact with others shapes the microbes between us. This ongoing project has been performed in different cities around the world (including Copenhagen, Montreal, San Francisco, Perth, Berlin and Baltimore) as a way to map our collective microbiome using scientific data.



Production of the 'microbiome selfies' involved many different steps. Following the collection of the microbiome samples, bacterial DNA was extracted, amplified and sequenced to create the bioinformatic data shown in this series. The nodes of the networks represent bacterial DNA sequences, and two nodes are connected by an edge (line) when the bacterial DNA sequences have more than 95% similarity. The different colours correspond to distinct samples collected at every 50th handshake, from 0 to 1001. 



This image corresponds to the 1st image in this 21-part series, showing the artist's personal microbiome at the start of the performance.

"1000 Handshakes" is a performance piece during which the artist shakes hands with as many people as possible, gradually changing the invisible microbial community in the palm of his hand. Periodically, assistants take a swab from the skin, and the samples are analyzed in the lab to reveal how our contact with others shapes the microbes between us. This ongoing project has been performed in different cities around the world (including Copenhagen, Montreal, San Francisco, Perth, Berlin and Baltimore) as a way to map our collective microbiome using scientific data.



Production of the 'microbiome selfies' involved many different steps. Following the collection of the microbiome samples, bacterial DNA was extracted, amplified and sequenced to create the bioinformatic data shown in this series. The nodes of the networks represent bacterial DNA sequences, and two nodes are connected by an edge (line) when the bacterial DNA sequences have more than 95% similarity. The different colours correspond to distinct samples collected at every 50th handshake, from 0 to 1001. 



This image corresponds to the 15th image in this 21-part series, showing the extensive microbiome resulting from 700 handshakes.

"1000 Handshakes" is a performance piece during which the artist shakes hands with as many people as possible, gradually changing the invisible microbial community in the palm of his hand. Periodically, assistants take a swab from the skin, and the samples are analyzed in the lab to reveal how our contact with others shapes the microbes between us. This ongoing project has been performed in different cities around the world (including Copenhagen, Montreal, San Francisco, Perth, Berlin and Baltimore) as a way to map our collective microbiome using scientific data.



Production of the 'microbiome selfies' involved many different steps. Following the collection of the microbiome samples, bacterial DNA was extracted, amplified and sequenced to create the bioinformatic data shown in this series. The nodes of the networks represent bacterial DNA sequences, and two nodes are connected by an edge (line) when the bacterial DNA sequences have more than 95% similarity. The different colours correspond to distinct samples collected at every 50th handshake, from 0 to 1001. 



This image corresponds to the 4th image in this 21-part series, showing the extensive microbiome resulting from 150 handshakes.

"1000 Handshakes" is a performance piece during which the artist shakes hands with as many people as possible, gradually changing the invisible microbial community in the palm of his hand. Periodically, assistants take a swab from the skin, and the samples are analyzed in the lab to reveal how our contact with others shapes the microbes between us. This ongoing project has been performed in different cities around the world (including Copenhagen, Montreal, San Francisco, Perth, Berlin and Baltimore) as a way to map our collective microbiome using scientific data.



Production of the 'microbiome selfies' involved many different steps. Following the collection of the microbiome samples, bacterial DNA was extracted, amplified and sequenced to create the bioinformatic data shown in this series. The nodes of the networks represent bacterial DNA sequences, and two nodes are connected by an edge (line) when the bacterial DNA sequences have more than 95% similarity. The different colours correspond to distinct samples collected at every 50th handshake, from 0 to 1001. 



This image corresponds to the 6th image in this 21-part series, showing the extensive microbiome resulting from 250 handshakes.

"1000 Handshakes" is a performance piece during which the artist shakes hands with as many people as possible, gradually changing the invisible microbial community in the palm of his hand. Periodically, assistants take a swab from the skin, and the samples are analyzed in the lab to reveal how our contact with others shapes the microbes between us. This ongoing project has been performed in different cities around the world (including Copenhagen, Montreal, San Francisco, Perth, Berlin and Baltimore) as a way to map our collective microbiome using scientific data.



Production of the 'microbiome selfies' involved many different steps. Following the collection of the microbiome samples, bacterial DNA was extracted, amplified and sequenced to create the bioinformatic data shown in this series. The nodes of the networks represent bacterial DNA sequences, and two nodes are connected by an edge (line) when the bacterial DNA sequences have more than 95% similarity. The different colours correspond to distinct samples collected at every 50th handshake, from 0 to 1001. 



This image corresponds to the 3rd image in this 21-part series, showing the extensive microbiome resulting from 750 handshakes.

"1000 Handshakes" is a performance piece during which the artist shakes hands with as many people as possible, gradually changing the invisible microbial community in the palm of his hand. Periodically, assistants take a swab from the skin, and the samples are analyzed in the lab to reveal how our contact with others shapes the microbes between us. This ongoing project has been performed in different cities around the world (including Copenhagen, Montreal, San Francisco, Perth, Berlin and Baltimore) as a way to map our collective microbiome using scientific data.



Production of the 'microbiome selfies' involved many different steps. Following the collection of the microbiome samples, bacterial DNA was extracted, amplified and sequenced to create the bioinformatic data shown in this series. The nodes of the networks represent bacterial DNA sequences, and two nodes are connected by an edge (line) when the bacterial DNA sequences have more than 95% similarity. The different colours correspond to distinct samples collected at every 50th handshake, from 0 to 1001. 



This image corresponds to the 14th image in this 21-part series, showing the extensive microbiome resulting from 650 handshakes.

"1000 Handshakes" is a performance piece during which the artist shakes hands with as many people as possible, gradually changing the invisible microbial community in the palm of his hand. Periodically, assistants take a swab from the skin, and the samples are analyzed in the lab to reveal how our contact with others shapes the microbes between us. This ongoing project has been performed in different cities around the world (including Copenhagen, Montreal, San Francisco, Perth, Berlin and Baltimore) as a way to map our collective microbiome using scientific data.



Production of the 'microbiome selfies' involved many different steps. Following the collection of the microbiome samples, bacterial DNA was extracted, amplified and sequenced to create the bioinformatic data shown in this series. The nodes of the networks represent bacterial DNA sequences, and two nodes are connected by an edge (line) when the bacterial DNA sequences have more than 95% similarity. The different colours correspond to distinct samples collected at every 50th handshake, from 0 to 1001. 



This image corresponds to the 19th image in this 21-part series, showing the extensive microbiome resulting from 900 handshakes.

"1000 Handshakes" is a performance piece during which the artist shakes hands with as many people as possible, gradually changing the invisible microbial community in the palm of his hand. Periodically, assistants take a swab from the skin, and the samples are analyzed in the lab to reveal how our contact with others shapes the microbes between us. This ongoing project has been performed in different cities around the world (including Copenhagen, Montreal, San Francisco, Perth, Berlin and Baltimore) as a way to map our collective microbiome using scientific data.



Production of the 'microbiome selfies' involved many different steps. Following the collection of the microbiome samples, bacterial DNA was extracted, amplified and sequenced to create the bioinformatic data shown in this series. The nodes of the networks represent bacterial DNA sequences, and two nodes are connected by an edge (line) when the bacterial DNA sequences have more than 95% similarity. The different colours correspond to distinct samples collected at every 50th handshake, from 0 to 1001. 



This image corresponds to the 7th image in this 21-part series, showing the extensive microbiome resulting from 300 handshakes.

"1000 Handshakes" is a performance piece during which the artist shakes hands with as many people as possible, gradually changing the invisible microbial community in the palm of his hand. Periodically, assistants take a swab from the skin, and the samples are analyzed in the lab to reveal how our contact with others shapes the microbes between us. This ongoing project has been performed in different cities around the world (including Copenhagen, Montreal, San Francisco, Perth, Berlin and Baltimore) as a way to map our collective microbiome using scientific data.



Production of the 'microbiome selfies' involved many different steps. Following the collection of the microbiome samples, bacterial DNA was extracted, amplified and sequenced to create the bioinformatic data shown in this series. The nodes of the networks represent bacterial DNA sequences, and two nodes are connected by an edge (line) when the bacterial DNA sequences have more than 95% similarity. The different colours correspond to distinct samples collected at every 50th handshake, from 0 to 1001. 



This image corresponds to the 16th image in this 21-part series, showing the extensive microbiome resulting from 750 handshakes.

Global Health Strategy 2014 to 2019

Engaging in Global Health : The Framework for Voluntary Engagement in Global Health by the UK Health Sector

Tackling a global health crisis : initial steps

Map of health

Proceedings of the International Sanitary Conference : provided for by joint resolution of the Senate and House of Representatives in the early part of 1881.

World map in the form of an FFA of the retina

Global burden of disease and risk factors

The global HIV epidemics among people who inject drugs

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Stay connected with email updates from Wellcome Collection

Wellcome collection

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Global Health Strategy 2014 to 2019

Engaging in Global Health : The Framework for Voluntary Engagement in Global Health by the UK Health Sector

Tackling a global health crisis : initial steps

Map of health

Proceedings of the International Sanitary Conference : provided for by joint resolution of the Senate and House of Representatives in the early part of 1881.

World map in the form of an FFA of the retina

Global burden of disease and risk factors

The global HIV epidemics among people who inject drugs

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Bacterial microbiome mapping, bioartistic experiment

Stay connected with email updates from Wellcome Collection

Wellcome collectionWellcome Collection

Finding us:

Opening times:

Today's opening times

Wellcome collection