Health is Global: a UK Government strategy
Authors/Editors: UK Department of Health
Publication date: 2008
Language: English
Number of pages: 39
Overview
A healthy population is fundamental to prosperity, security and stability – a cornerstone of economic growth and social development. In contrast, poor health does more than damage the economic and political viability of any one country – it is a threat to the economic and political interests of all countries. Improving global health is vital if we are to achieve the Government’s domestic and international objectives. The health targets of the MDGs are among those least likely to be met and this demands a coherent strategy and decisive action.
Global health is determined by factors which themselves often show scant respect for national boundaries – such as international trade, climate change, pollution, conflict, environmental degradation and poverty.
The UK Government cannot achieve the ambition set out in this strategy alone. Because so many sectors affect health, and so many countries and agencies are involved in healthcare, improving health around the world requires co-operative actions and solutions. This means creative, joined-up partnership both between UK government departments, and between the UK Government and a host of other partners, ranging from the EU and the UN to non-governmental organisations (NGOs), foundations, academia and business. Such a co-operative vision demands a strategy for improving global health and, while the strategy we outline is for the next five years, its vision covers a 10- to 15-year period. The strategy sets out the breadth of global health issues and our plan for tackling them…”
There are ten principles that underpin Health is Global. They are that we will:
- set out to do no harm and, as far as feasible, evaluate the impact of our domestic and foreign policies on global health to ensure that our intention is fulfilled;
- base our global health policies and practice on sound evidence, especially public health evidence, and work with others to develop evidence where it does not exist;
- use health as an agent for good in foreign policy, recognising that improving the health of the world’s population can make a strong contribution towards promoting a low-carbon, high-growth global economy;
- promote outcomes on global health that support the achievement of the MDGs and the MDG Call for Action;
- promote health equity within and between countries through our foreign and domestic policies;
- ensure that the effects of foreign and domestic policies on global health are much more explicit and that we are transparent about where the objectives of different policies may conflict;
- work for strong and effective leadership on global health through strengthened and reformed international institutions;
- learn from other countries’ policies and experience in order to improve the health and well-being of the UK population and the way we deliver healthcare;
- protect the health of the UK proactively, by tackling health challenges that begin outside our borders; and
- work in partnership with other governments, multilateral agencies, civil society and business in pursuit of our objectives