Global health: A postulate for German foreign policy

Globalization has influenced everyone's living standards, changing the relationships between nations, affecting the economy and shifting the international networking of science and research as well as cultural exchange. It also impacts the external and internal security of states. And digitalization is only accelerating and manifesting the ­effects of globalization further.

Global healthcare is facing new challenges due to these profound and comprehensive changes. While healthcare has improved the treatment of diseases thanks to the progress made in biological and medical research, the importance of improving the quality of healthcare and people's quality of life continues to grow. The health of people all over the world is still under threat as infectious diseases do not stop at national borders. Concern about pandemics is on the rise, as is the danger that germs will become increasingly resistant to antibiotics. Environmental degradation, air pollution and climate change are similar global problems. No longer something to be addressed by individual nations on their own, these issues must be resolved jointly and multilaterally. International politics and political action must take into account this rapidly changing reality, particularly in terms of health policy.

Cooperation needed

The time for national unilateral action is finally over. Health is a priority goal on the international political agenda. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted in 2016, commit the world community to secure the basis of life on our planet in the long-term and enable all people to live in peace and health through political, economic and social measures. The SDGs address issues regarding education, social security, economic development and climate protection. Goal 3 should "ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at every age."

"The scale and variety of what is to be done is enormous; world health is growing in its relevancy"

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Germany has dedicated itself to the goal of global health, as the German chancellor's personal commitment to the goals during the country's rotation on the G7 and G20 presidencies showed. Among other things, the German government has significantly increased payments to the World Health Organization (WHO) and to organizations that are involved in large vaccination programs or the elimination of diseases. These programs have already saved countless lives by working hand-in-hand with other partners.

Given the task at hand, as well as the opportunities, Germany should not only carry on in its commitment to global health but systematically expand it. Global health should be developed in a holistic way as a topic for consensus in international politics. The fact that Germany is taking on a leading role is welcomed worldwide, especially now that the U.S. has become an unpredictable partner and Great Britain's possibilities are increasingly reaching their limits.

The benefits of healthy citizens

Global health is an interdisciplinary topic at the national and international level in the best sense of the word. Health issues affect nearly all political areas. They can be found intertwined in the economy as well as in education, internal and external security, nutrition or public infrastructure. The state of a population's health has a direct impact on the economic, social and political development of a country.

Prof. Dr. Detlev Ganten (left) is the president of the World Health Summit. Reinhard Schäfers is a World Health Summit ambassador

The scale and variety of what is to be done is enormous. World health is growing in its relevancy. Health is no longer considered a desired concomitant to life, but a pivotal area for political action worldwide, regardless of the political system. China, for example, is pursuing a consistent "health in all policies" strategy. Germany should assume a cooperative leadership role in this area. This would not be arrogant, but it would rather mean that one of the richest countries in the world is assuming responsibility and increasingly gaining international respect for doing so.

Read more: WHO: Anti-vaccination campaigns threaten global health

The establishment of a Global Health Hub Germany, planned by the federal government, and the increased promotion of research in this field are important steps. The World Health Summit, which takes place every year in Berlin under the joint patronage of the German chancellor, the French president and the president of the European Commission, and hosts several thousand participants from 100 nations, is also seen as an integral part of Germany's commitment to improving global health. It is an important signal that Germany, as a leader and in good partnership, is using its great scientific, economic and political potential for global health as a central and unifying theme of German foreign policy, development policy and security policy for humanitarian reasons, as well as in its own well-understood interest. In view of our history, our possibilities and our expectations, this is a logical, noble priority of German policy.

Prof. Dr. Detlev Ganten is the president of the World Health Summit, a specialist in pharmacology and molecular medicine and one of the world's leading scientists in the field of cardiovascular diseases. Reinhard Schäfers is a World Health Summit ambassador and diplomat. He has served as Germany's ambassador to France, Ukraine and Italy.