Health is on G-20's agenda. Now what?

Concerns over disease outbreaks — and the threat they pose to international security — will for the first time feature prominently on the agenda of the upcoming Group of 20 summit. A coalition of development and relief agencies is using the opportunity to push global leaders for stronger commitments to improve health systems in some of the world’s poorest countries.

The annual summit, which was first convened in 2008 and includes governments of 19 countries along with the European Union, traditionally focuses on finance and economics. But the German government, which is organizing the July 2017 meeting in Hamburg, has found plenty of room for global health on its agenda. In addition to appearing among German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s priority issues, there will also be a pre-summit meeting of health ministers — the first of its kind for the G-20.

Previous G-20 summits have addressed individual epidemics, but public health professionals and advocates are urging the forum to widen its lens to include health systems, which form the first line of defense in emergencies. They hope the effort might ultimately help advance universal health coverage, which campaigners argue would provide the best guard against future epidemics.