At the time, health was becoming an increasingly important global issue; it was moving out of the medical and public health sphere and becoming an issue of foreign policy and diplomacy. Also, the interface with other policy sectors, such as trade, was becoming more significant and the involvement of many stakeholders, including the private sector, was gaining ground. Many of the international organisations relevant to the governance of global health – the World Health Organization (WHO), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI), the World Trade Organization, the Human Rights Council – are situated in Geneva. It became clear that a global health centre in Geneva and at the Graduate Institute with a strong interdisciplinary profile could play an important role in research, executive training and as a health platform.
Global health has become even more important recently and its political nature is increasingly understood. Health is central to the Sustainable Development Goals and it is now a key issue at G7, G20, BRICS and AU summits. It is also debated at the UN Security Council and UN General Assembly. Global health security has moved into focus due to the Ebola outbreaks, putting a spotlight on the need to strengthen health systems in all countries. The increase of non-communicable diseases throughout the world has put a spotlight on the role of commercial determinants of health; the digital transformation is providing new opportunities but lacks governance; the challenges of climate change are becoming part of the global health debate; access to medicine is becoming an even more pressing issue. Many of the present challenges are political: Will the strong support for global health funding continue? How will geopolitical shifts influence global health governance? Should WHO play a new, more prominent role?
The GHC has been at the forefront of discussions, research and debates at the Institute. It also advises international organisations and other stakeholders. Its global health diplomacy executive courses in Geneva and around the world have already influenced an entire generation of global health negotiators.
In the future, the GHC will position itself as a leader in cutting-edge social science research on global health governance and serve as a platform where key intersectoral challenges are debated. In looking forward, the GHC aims to identify and discuss trends in global health as they emerge.
Interview written for the internal newsletter of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies