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As global power structures shift and trust in science erodes, multilateral cooperation and shared values face growing strain, threatening progress on urgent global health challenges. Rebuilding consensus means protecting academic freedom, improving science communication and reinforcing collective responsibility Fragmenting consensus in a fragmenting world
Axel R Pries president, World Health Summit
by ideology, they may even become sources of disinformation themselves.
TRUSTED INFORMATION AND TRUST IN SCIENCE A further challenge to trustworthy and fact-checked information emerges from social media. Increasingly, the individual freedom of speech, even including misinformation and disinformation, is not balanced by proven and accepted information from academic and institutional bodies that follow strict requirements for the accuracy of information. The Covid-19 pandemic showed how such an environment can lead to the erosion of public trust. Personal experiences, worries and the lack of clear evidence created a platform for the spread of misinformation. This situation was exploited by malevolent actors who started disinformation campaigns motivated by commercial or political interests. According to a Dutch proverb, ‘trust arrives on foot and leaves on horseback’. Without the willingness of politicians, health providers at all levels and the public to accept evidence provided by trusted sources on a solid factual basis jointly, global health suffers severe consequences. Consequently, people are falling victim to preventable diseases such as measles and campaigns against health insurance systems may leave millions without coverage. Preventing this and rebuilding trust require a joint effort by all players in international and national health systems, including academia, politics, the private sector and civil society. SCIENCE AS A BASIS FOR CONSENSUS Science can play a unifying role. While academic activities are strongly influenced by their societal environment, scientific insights need to become independent of a political and cultural context as they are repeatedly examined, tested, and discarded or validated, in the quest to gradually approximate a universal ‘truth’. Such insights are represented in natural laws, which are, for example, not only the basis for all wireless communication (a fact that is accepted universally) but also for the human-made global climate crisis (which is denied by many). No person or society can argue with natural laws, and this should provide a basic consensus on which to build trust. To prevent and manage global challenges – such as pandemics, conflict and the climate crisis
T he globalised world stands at a crossroads. International partnerships and multinational institutions are weakened, former allies are turning into competitors, and new alliances are emerging. This shift reflects a growing mismatch between the ever-evolving global distribution of power and the structures of our international systems and organisations. Addressing this mismatch requires a deliberate renegotiation of multilateralism without undue delay, particularly where institutional rigidity prevents smooth adaptation to changing realities. However, the current moment of change is accompanied by an alarming breakdown of fundamental principles key to a sustainable and prosperous international community: shared humanitarian values, freedom of movement, free trade and strong multilateral organisations. The disintegration of multilateral mechanisms goes hand in hand with the fragmentation of consensus on what constitutes facts, evidence, knowledge and who can provide them. Institutions once regarded as guardians of scientific integrity and evidence-informed recommendations are now under attack. If their basis in scientific evidence is replaced
Health: A Political Choice – The Future of Health in a Fractured World 6
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