The board of the Health Council of the Netherlands consists of a chair and a vice chair. The council has about 100 members, coming from all parts of the country and from various disciplines. Together they cover the six domains of the council: Vaccination and screening, Nutrition, Human environment, Working conditions, Healthcare and the new domain Lifestyle and health behaviour.
Additionally, there is the presidium committee, which is a think tank for strategic issues and the general running of the Health Council. This committee consists of the chair and vice chair of the council, both chair persons of the standing committee, the chair persons of the permanent committees, and the managing director.
Each advisory report is reviewed by the standing committee before being published.
Due to the council’s size, organising plenary meetings is not feasible. Instead, members, along with external experts, join focused committees specifically appointed to address particular questions that have been submitted. In addition, there are permanent committees which are responsible for providing advice on frequently recurring topics.