| DOWNLOAD CALL [English] | DOWNLOAD CALL [Deutsch] |  Article from June 27, 2025 |
Joint Call for the Continuation of the Subcommittee on Global Health at the German Bundestag
The Subcommittee on Global Health at the German Bundestag is a vital instrument of parliamentary leadership and strategic foresight. It facilitates Germany’s global health engagement towards agreed actions that are effective, well-coordinated, and rooted in democratic accountability, advancing humanitarian as well as geopolitical and economic interests. Importantly, the Subcommittee ensures that Germany’s national health policies are consistent with its international health goals and responsibility, contributing towards safeguarding the well-being of the general population.
We thus jointly call on all democratic parliamentary groups in the German Bundestag
- to acknowledge that the role and importance of the Subcommittee on Global Health is only increasing in the context of evolving changes and challenges in the Global Health ecosystem worldwide
- to secure the institutional continuation and further development of this dedicated Bundestag Subcommittee, ensuring global health as a sustained priority in the Bundestag’s 21st legislative agenda and reinforcing Germany’s commitment to advancing global well-being as effective strategic investment towards global stability, equity, and the credibility of Germany’s international leadership
Background: The Subcommittee on Global Health was first established during the 19th legislative period of the German Bundestag under the Committee on Health in 2022. During the 20th legislative period, it was continued and significantly strengthened as joint subcommittee of the Committees on Health and on Economic Cooperation and Development – expanding its size, mandate, and political relevance. This development marked a clear commitment by the German parliament to elevate global health as a strategic policy priority – rooted in cross-party and cross-ministerial cooperation and guided by principles of humanitarianism and multilateral engagement. It served as a key institutional bridge between the Bundestag, the federal government, and non-state actors – including many of the organisations which jointly endorse this call. By fostering dialogue with civil society, academia, international organisations, and the private sector, the Subcommittee ensured that parliamentary deliberations were grounded in scientific evidence, practical expertise, and societal needs. In doing so, it helped enhance the coherence and impact of Germany’s global health engagement across sectors. Internationally recognised as a model of parliamentary leadership in global health [ref. Germany’s role in global health at a critical juncture. Franz, Christian et al. The Lancet, Volume 404, Issue 10447, 82-94], its impact was reflected in recent Bundestag debates – including a session marking the WHO’s 75th anniversary in 2023 and a discussion on the WHO Pandemic Agreement in 2024, where broad cross-party majorities reaffirmed Germany’s strong support for multilateralism and in particular WHO. No other parliament had expressed such unified backing for global health.
Why is this so important?
Facilitating Overall Policy Coherence and Convergence: Global health effectively relates to a large variety of areas and nexuses of interconnectedness, thus being of essential relevance to most parliamentary committees and federal ministries. This includes climate, biodiversity and health – health security – social security – health economy – resilience of health systems – resilience of financial systems – economic and development cooperation – nutrition and agriculture – poverty reduction – education – migration – urban health – international cooperation in health and health diplomacy – and many more. This breadth inherent to global health and the need for system-based thinking clearly demonstrate the crucial role that can only be played by a committee with a membership of parliamentarians representing diverse roles and broad expertise. This is essential in achieving sustainable and equitable outcomes.
The Subcommittee on Global Health of the German Bundestag has to date made essential contributions towards several key goals and advanced important developments which need to be pursued consistently and continuously. These include, among other things:
Strengthening Germany’s leadership, accountability, and strategic engagement
- Positioning Germany as a key player and shaper in global health and health diplomacy.
- Enhancing Germany’s role and credibility in multilateral health forums, e.g., WHO, EU, G7, G20.
- Facilitating strategic use of health as a tool for international development and economic cooperation, to achieve humanitarian goals and peacebuilding.
- Serving as international model for legislative leadership in global health inspiring similar structures in other countries’ parliaments and strengthening parliamentary diplomacy in health.
Ensuring Parliamentary Oversight, Accountability and Socio-Economic Value
- Reviewing and evaluating Germany’s financial contributions to international organisations and global health initiatives, e.g. WHO, The Global Fund, Gavi, CEPI.
- Ensuring that taxpayer funds are used efficiently and aligned in consistency with the national and global health priorities.
- Promoting transparency in international health engagements.
- Supporting the coherent implementation and ongoing evaluation of Germany’s Global Health Strategy.
Responding to Cross-Border Health Threats
- Contributing to legislative responses to national and trans-national health threats such as pandemics, antimicrobial resistance, non-communicable diseases and emerging infectious diseases.
- Underscoring prevention, preparedness and resilience in both the inextricably linked national and international health systems.
Advancing Global Health Equity
- Promoting equitable access to essential medicines, vaccines, and health services towards improving population well-being worldwide.
- Partnering in health system strengthening support in low- and middle-income countries, to foster global stability, resilience and security.
Placing Health in Context to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Aligning Germany’s policy with the United Nations Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, especially SDG 3 – Health and Wellbeing and SDG 17 – Partnerships) as “shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future” [ref. https://sdgs.un.org/goals].
- Underscoring the importance of global health engagement by recognizing and promoting that health and well-being are goods intuitively highly valued by individuals and by society as a whole.
- Utilising health as predestined entry point, impact factor, and crucially proof of efficacy in terms of working towards the SDGs in their entirety.
Adapting to the Future Determinants of Health
- Governments must now evolve to adjust to future determinants of health through innovation, inclusive design, holistic and system-thinking policies and adoption of mutually beneficial partnership models. Only in a forward-looking manner will we be equipped to adapt to emerging trends, technologies, and systemic forces (e.g. climate change) expected to influence population health and healthcare in the coming decades.
- This adaption process requires the complimentary bundling of parliamentary expertise, voices and action across the different fields to facilitate appropriate health strategy development, health policymaking and health care delivery under transition from episodic, reactive care to prevention and continuous, proactive health management.
Addressing Complexities, Challenges and Threats
- The traditional pillars of the global health architecture are at a point of significant erosion given the current dramatic geopolitical developments leading to considerable damage to multilateralism, devastating cuts to overseas development aid (ODA) and humanitarian support especially for the most vulnerable, and to serious attacks on the freedom of academia and science. This represents a serious risk, but also an opportune moment for a comprehensive reset. This requires dedicated adaptions and tangible action for which the subcommittee is ideally placed to play a leading role.
In summary, the Bundestag Global Health Subcommittee is and should remain critical to demanding and stimulating the much-needed coherence and convergence among the relevant federal ministries, as well as a key point of contact for the many national and global health stakeholders and for European and international partner organisations. It can achieve oversight and accountability whilst ensuring that global health is integrated into broader national and international policy agendas.
At a time when global health is increasingly impacted by geopolitical instability, climate-related challenges, and financial constraints, parliamentary leadership is more important than ever. The Subcommittee provides a necessary platform for informed, cross-sectoral, and democratic debate on the most pressing health challenges of our time. We therefore jointly call on all democratic parliamentary groups in the German Bundestag to recognize the growing relevance of this Subcommittee — and to take decisive action to ensure its continuation and institutional strengthening in the current legislative period.
We stand ready to support your efforts in this regard.
Partner Organisations Endorsing this Joint Call
1. German Alliance for Global Health Research (GLOHRA), on behalf of the Steering Committee – please see below
2. Global Health Hub Germany
3. World Health Summit (WHS)
4. UNITE Parliamentarians Network for Global Health
5. Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, | Heidelberg University Hospital, Germany
6. Center for Global Health | Technical University Munich, Germany
7. CharitéCenter for Global Health | Charité – University Medicine Berlin, Germany
8. Global Health Policy Lab (GHPL)
9. German Network against Neglected Tropical Diseases (DNTDs)
10. Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW)
11. GHA – German Health Alliance
12. Virchow Foundation
13. Federation of German Industries (BDI)
Members of the Steering Committee of the German Alliance for Global Health Research (GLOHRA)
1. Dr. Ahmed Abd El Wahed, Universität Leipzig
2. Prof. Dr. Shadi Albarqouni, Universitätsklinikum Bonn
3. Prof. Dr. Merike Blofield, Universität Hamburg
4. Prof. Dr. Dr. Kerem Böge, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin
5. Prof. Dr. Walter Bruchhausen, Universitätsklinikum Bonn
6. Prof. Dr. Amélia Camarinha Silva, Universität Hohenheim
7. Prof. Dr. Manuela De Allegri, Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg
8. PD Dr. Meral Esen, Universitätsklinikum Tübingen
9. Torben Heinsohn, Helmholtz Zentrum für Infektionsforschung
10. Prof. Dr. Beate Kampmann, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
11. Prof. Dr. Frank Klawonn, Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences & Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung
12. Dr. Dr. Carsten Köhler, Universitätsklinikum Tübingen
13. Prof. Dr. Charlotte Köhler, Europa-Universität Viadrina
14. PD Dr. Shannon McMahon, Universität Heidelberg
15. Abed-Nego Oubda, Technische Universität Dresden
16. Prof. Dr. Clarissa Prazeres da Costa, Technische Universität München
17. Camila María Ramírez, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover
18. Eva Prof. Dr. Rehfuess, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
19. Prof. Dr. Nikkil Sudharsanan, Technische Universität München
