Countries can effectively combat pandemics such as the current Covid-19 pandemic by making long-term investments in structural improvements in global health. This means that governments and their ministries must pursue policy coherence and reinforce each other’s programmes. As the 2021 Dutch general election is approaching, Wemos is advocating – with fellow members of the Dutch Global Health Alliance – a Global Health strategy. Experts, including Wemos director Mariëlle Bemelmans, explain what this would entail in the Election Special of the Dutch development cooperation magazine Vice Versa.
We are convinced that the pandemic was, in part, caused by governments having fragmentedly underinvested in cross-border health challenges. In our view, to be able to ‘build back better’, we will have to see long-term investments in structural improvements in global public health, through various ministries and budgets, in programmes that do not undermine – but rather strengthen – each other in innovative and strong international partnerships. We advocate that governments also use Covid-19 recovery plans and budgets for this purpose.
Download the Global Health chapter in Vice Versa’s Election Special (note: in Dutch).
The Great Foreign Policy Debate
On February 24th, the Dutch Global Health Alliance organised the Great Foreign Policy Debate (‘Het Grote Buitenlanddebat’), in which (prospective) MPs spoke about how they envision ’the Netherlands abroad’. You can watch the debate here (Dutch). The first debate round between Anne Kuik (political party CDA) and Renske Leijten (political party SP) focused on global health.
Read more about the Dutch Global Health Alliance
Photo: ‘Social distancing in the market – Kenya’ by Sambrian Mbaabu / World Bank Photo Collection via Flickr Creative Commons is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
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