The European Migraine and Headache Alliance (EMHA) has officially launched IMHA — the International Migraine and Headache Alliance, a new international committee bringing together patient organisations from beyond Europe under one shared campaign: The Migraine Movement.
The announcement, made public around MHIPAS V in Geneva, formalises a decade of collaboration with associations across four continents. It also introduces the visual identity that will now accompany EMHA’s global work: EMHA | IMHA — The Migraine Movement.
What is IMHA?
IMHA is not a new patient organisation. It is the formal name for EMHA’s international committee — an internal structure that gives the alliance’s global work a clear identity, a shared voice, and a coordinated way of operating.
Concretely, IMHA:
- Represents the international dimension of EMHA’s work — the 23 patient associations from outside Europe who have collaborated with EMHA over the years.
- Coordinates the international advocacy carried out under EMHA’s projects, from awareness campaigns to global patient voice initiatives.
- Sits within EMHA’s internal regulation as a multidisciplinary committee, alongside EMHA’s continuing work in Europe.
Why now?
EMHA has been working closely with international patient associations since 2016. In recent years, those associations have increasingly asked for a formal platform to sit under — one that would allow migraine advocacy to be aligned globally, not only across Europe.
The launch of IMHA responds directly to that need. It is also consistent with EMHA’s 2023–2028 strategic plan, which explicitly commits the alliance to “promote and align information about migraine worldwide and exchange best practices working closely with Patient Organisations outside Europe.”
What changes — and what doesn’t
EMHA continues exactly as it does today. The European Migraine and Headache Alliance remains the legal entity, representing its 39 European member associations and leading its European policy, awareness, and advocacy work.
What changes is the visibility of the international work EMHA has been doing for years. That work now has a name — IMHA — and a shared campaign banner: The Migraine Movement.
For members, associates, and partners, this means:
- No structural changes to existing membership or agreements.
- A clearer international identity for global projects and communications.
- A unified way to speak about migraine, whether at European or international level.
The Migraine Movement
The Migraine Movement is the campaign that brings EMHA and IMHA together under one banner. It expresses what the two share: a mission to make migraine visible, recognised, and taken seriously — wherever patients live with it.
Existing EMHA projects — from the EMHA Migraine Scoring System and Migraine Friendly Workplace to MHIPAS — will continue to run under this shared identity, with international projects gaining new momentum through IMHA’s structure.
What’s next
In the months following the launch, EMHA and IMHA will be:
- Introducing the new visual identity across communications and materials.
- Reaching out to international associates to formalise their place within the committee.
- Continuing to advance the flagship projects that already unite the community.
The direction is simple: one alliance, wider reach, one movement.
Learn more
About EMHA | IMHA
The European Migraine and Headache Alliance (EMHA) is an independent umbrella organisation representing 39 patient associations across Europe, working to give people living with migraine and headache disorders a stronger voice in health policy, workplaces, and everyday life. With the launch of IMHA — the International Migraine and Headache Alliance — that work now formally extends to a growing international community across four continents, united under one campaign: The Migraine Movement.
For more information: communications@emhalliance.org
