History

The idea of the GIP emerged following a 2001 report by Claude Evin, in which the current chairman of the French Hospital Federation noted the lack of visibility of French cooperation activities in the area of social protection and health. There was a need for a more global approach to efforts in this area, including a greater awareness of the health dimension.

Legal underpinnings

The Act of 4 March 2002 concerning patients’ rights and the quality of the health care system gave the idea its first legal expression. Article 90 thus states that: “A public interest group with legal status and financial autonomy may be formed between the state and other public or private entities, in order to conduct together, for a specified period, technical assistance and international cooperation activities in the field of health and social protection.” The act thus gave birth to GIP SPSI whose task was to strengthen France’s presence in that arena.

Design and financing

On 12 April 2002, the Minister for European Affairs, Elisabeth Guigou, assigned Jean-Marie Spaeth to design the contours of the new organisation. This mission was confirmed on 28 October 2002 by the Minister of Health, Jean-François Mattei.

The design phase was completed by Article 65 of the Act of 13 August 2004 on health insurance which paved the way for the launch of the organisation by providing for its financing by the national social security funds.

The final building block was added with the identification of the group’s founding members, a task entrusted to Jean-Marie Spaeth on 20 October 2004 by the Minister of Health, Philippe Douste-Blazy, and the State Secretary for Health Insurance, Xavier Bertrand.

Founding agreement

The findings of various meetings and studies guided the drafting of the founding agreement, which was adopted by the GIP’s General Assembly on 23 February 2005, and approved by the Departmental Order of 12 May 2005 published in the Journal Officiel of 24 May 2005.