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.
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.
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:
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, novel 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.
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.
Berlin, 26 June 2025
