SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION, RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY 5.5
SOUMYA SWAMINATHAN Soumya Swaminathan is chair of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation. A pae- diatrician and researcher on tuberculosis and HIV, she was the World Health Organiza- tion’s first chief scientist from 2017 to 2023. She previously served as secretary to the Government of India for health research and director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research from 2015 to 2017. From 2009 to 2011, she was coordina- tor of the UNICEF/UNDP/ World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases in Geneva. X-TWITTER @mssrf www.mssrf.org
local norms and socio-economic factors often means the difference between success and failure. This became paramount for the effectiveness of masking and social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Integrating behavioural insights into every stage – from design and implementation to communication – is non-negotiable for building sustainable and equitable health outcomes. Philanthropy can catalyse research focused on priorities, such as climate adaptation and disease elimination. Philanthropic investment aligned with local needs and partnerships enables scalable impacts and creates public goods tailored to community realities. Global health leaders may now have to take on the responsibility of expanding their peer group by galvanising potential donors – family, corporate, independent and start-up founder foundations – who align on specific objectives. THE PATHWAY These promising interventions will have to work with each other in prioritised ways on areas of need for on-the-ground change. Choices must now be made for the short term and perhaps the long term. The financing that the global health architecture will now access will have to be applied to prioritised areas. Pandemic preparedness will rank high in the set of priorities. Global health should also maintain the funding and the technical prowess to finish the job on diseases that have recently been eliminated or are on the cusp of being eliminated, such as polio, visceral leishmaniasis, yaws and guinea worm disease. Funding for research and development should continue for high-impact projects where medical breakthroughs are imminent. Frittering away billions, years of research and investment of cutting-edge talent because of funding shortages may risk future generations. Urgent action is needed on the industrial determinants of health for dampening the impacts of air pollution and ultra-processed food systems – both areas fundamentally driven by international cooperation and hence well suited for coordinated global action. Global health must inculcate higher order strategic financing lessons from the ongoing polycrisis. More efficient and responsive structures must be considered for regional cooperation in supply security and equitable access to commodities. The Partnership for African Vaccine Manufacturing under the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention aims to enable indigenous production of up to 60% of the continent’s vaccine demand by 2040. Regional consortia for capacity building, talent pooling, and clinical and implementation research should ensure that countries in the Global South are jointly learning and addressing challenges that do not respect political boundaries.
HARKABIR SINGH JANDU
Harkabir Singh Jandu is a development sec- tor professional with expertise in health systems. He has held leadership positions with the Clinton Health Access Initiative and BreakthroughT1D and managed his own enterprise.
The journey of securing global health must ultimately be anchored in science and clear and objective communication. Training the next generation in critical thinking and instilling a deep appreciation for evidence drive progress. Building a scientifically literate society that values evidence requires resolute political leadership at every level. Governments must boldly invest public finances into basic and translational research, incentivise cross-sector partnerships, and champion scalable innovations. ▪
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Health: A Political Choice – The Future of Health in a Fractured World
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