En antologi om trender och olika perspektiv på global hälsa

Sammanfattning

Investing in people’s health should be a priority for Swedish aid. At the same time, it is also a major research field and an important market for Sweden and for the Swedish private sector. This means that health is an area with many intersections and clear synergies between policy areas, for example between aid, trade, migration, climate and research and innovation.
How we work with health globally can also have direct impact on the health of the population of Sweden and can affect the image of Sweden. Global health is an area where Sweden has a good track record and where Sweden has already made major investments in the form of financial resources, but also in the form of advocacy, global leadership and research. We need to highlight the results of these investments and capitalise on them, which requires a long-term and innovative approach in the collaboration with partners.

Global health is a constantly evolving field where a lot has happened in the last 10, 20 or 50 years, depending on where you begin. In order to design future aid as effectively as possible, we need a common understanding of what we know today about what threatens global health, and what the possibilities are. For example, the burden of disease is changing. Life expectancy has increased, child mortality has declined, and infectious diseases are no longer the leading cause of death globally. At the same time, there are countries where child and maternal mortality rates remain unacceptably high, and millions of people still lack access to clean water and sanitation. The need for humanitarian support in various crises remains very high.

Our hope is that this anthology can contribute to a greater Swedish consensus on the global health challenges of the future and facilitate synergies and collaboration between partners. Investing in people’s health is investing in our common future – every effort today contributes to a more equitable and sustainable global society tomorrow.