Global Health: Home

In simple terms, Global health refers to matters of public health with a global focus – that is, taking the whole world into account. In this, it differs from international or national health issues.

According the constitution of the World Health Organisation,

“The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.”

Global health is rooted in values of equity and social justice, so its focus is often on parts of the world affected by war, climate change or natural disasters. But it also encompasses health issues of universal concern, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

The EU’s Global Health Strategy strikes the same notes of equitability, access, multidisciplinarity and solidarity. Its guiding principles are:

1. Prioritise tackling the root causes of ill health, paying particular attention to the rights of women and girls, and to vulnerable populations and disadvantaged groups.

2. Improve equitable access to a full range of essential health services from health promotion to disease prevention and affordable quality treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care to fight communicable and non-communicable diseases.

3. Improve primary healthcare with built-in surge capacity, and enhance core public health capacities to meet the requirements of the International Health Regulations.

4. Foster digitalisation as a fundamental enabler.

5. Boost global health research to develop the technologies and countermeasures which are necessary to improve health.

6. Address workforce imbalances and foster skills.

7. Strengthen capacities for prevention, preparedness and response and early detection of health threats globally.

8. Work towards a permanent global mechanism that fosters the development of and equitable access to vaccines and countermeasures for low- and middle-income countries.

9. Negotiate an effective legally binding pandemic agreement with a One Health approach and strengthened International Health Regulations.

10. Build a robust global collaborative surveillance network to better detect and act on pathogens.

11. Apply a comprehensive One Health approach and intensify the fight against antimicrobial resistance.

12. Link effectively all policies and measures that have an impact on global health within the Commission, EU agencies and EU financing institutions.

13. Better link and coordinate policies and measures of the EU and its Member States to speak with one voice and deliver effective action worldwide.

14. Support a stronger, effective and accountable WHO.

15. Steer the new global health governance by filling gaps and ensuring coherence of action.

16. Ensure a stronger EU role in international organisations and bodies.

17. Expand partnerships based on equal footing, co-ownership, mutual interest and strategic priorities.

18. Strengthen engagement with key global health stakeholders.

19. Enhance EU finance for global health with maximum impact.

20. Assess progress and ensure the accountability of the EU’s global health action through permanent monitoring and assessment.

The HSE has its own Global Health programme, which you can read about here:

ESTHER Ireland is an initiative of the HSE Global Health Programme and was previously part of the European ESTHER Alliance for Global Health Partnerships. Under this initiative, the Global Health Programme facilitates and supports Irish health services and institutes to develop linkages and twinning partnerships with counterpart institutions in low and middle-income countries.

The partnership approach aims to make a significant contribution to health outcomes in the global south by addressing inequities in access and coverage while improving the quality of services through capacity building and institutional development. Human resource capacity is strengthened through peer-to-peer relationships between personnel working in partner institutions.

Accordingly, ESTHER-supported partnerships are “agents of change” in a multiplicity of intervention areas that focus on the creation of sustainable and resilient partnerships with positive changes at all stages of the results continuum. Self-mobilisation and financial leverage are considered key output performance indicators from a quality partnership and are expected to make a contribution to improved health outcomes.