Can health care cure multilateralism?

The latest report on the progress of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), published on April 25, 2023, paints a worrying picture, with only 12% of the 169 SDG targets on track and progress stalled or reversed on more than 30% of the objectives.

The setbacks are notably due to growing political tensions and multiple crises. But also, very largely, to the lack of funding. In July 2023, António Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN, recalled that “the annual financing gap for the Sustainable Development Goals [was] now estimated at 4.2 trillion dollars – compared to 2.5 trillion before the pandemic” .

Faced with current tensions, global health offers us examples of effective solutions for thinking about the protection of global public goods.