Resolution on strengthening global health resilience in partner countries
The European Parliament adopted by 319 votes to 142, with 19 abstentions, a resolution on strengthening global health resilience in partner countries.
While there have been significant improvements in health outcomes over the last 25 years, progress is slowing down and the world is not on track to achieve the health-related targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. According to the UN Sustainable Development Goals report of 2025, infectious and non-communicable diseases remain major threats and pose risk factors. Parliament stressed that strong and resilient health systems are a prerequisite for economic development, social stability and national security in partner countries.
Stressing that the Global Gateway strategy provides an opportunity to strengthen health infrastructure, digital health systems, pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity and health workforce development in partner countries while reinforcing mutually beneficial partnerships, Parliament highlighted that the EU should continue to position itself as a reliable global partner in health, promoting rules-based international cooperation while reducing strategic dependencies and strengthening resilience against future cross-border health threats.
The resolution recognised the urgent need to boost the ability of systems, communities and institutions worldwide to prevent, prepare for, absorb and adapt to global health threats, in a context of geopolitical uncertainty, increasing numbers of disease outbreaks, declining health financing, stalled progress on global health targets, persistent gender inequalities and the increasing instrumentalisation of health.
It stressed that strengthening global health resilience is both a development objective and a strategic investment in European and global security and stability, as reduced international health investment weakens collective preparedness, increases exposure to cross-border health threats and risks diminishing the EU’s diplomatic influence and global credibility. Members noted that the Global Health Resilience Initiative (GHRI) sends an important political signal that global health must remain a strategic priority for the EU at a time of rising geopolitical instability and inequalities, shrinking development assistance and increasing global health risks.
Parliament called for this ambition to be matched with concrete political and financial commitments to uphold global health as a universal right and global public good. It reiterated its call for continued EU support, including through Global Gateway, for strengthening global preparedness against health threats by investing in prevention, preparedness and response capacities in partner countries.
Funding
Global health funding fell by more than 50 % between 2021 and 2025, with further reductions expected by 2030. In this regard, Members stressed that recent reductions in official development assistance for health run counter to the growing recognition that health investment is a strategic priority where donor and partner interests align. The resolution called on the Commission and the Member States to support partner countries in strengthening institutions and governance capacities, including public financial management and domestic resource mobilisation, and in developing national health financing sustainability plans, including, where relevant, for progressing towards internationally recognised funding commitments. It called for coordinated use of EU funding instruments, where appropriate together with innovative financing tools and technical assistance, to achieve sustainable health outcomes in partner countries.
Global supply and stockpiles
The resolution called for the establishment and strengthening of regional and national stockpiles of essential medical countermeasures, as well as coordinated mechanisms for their rapid deployment in response to health emergencies. The Commission and the Member States are called on to support the diversification of global supply chains for health technologies through coordinated investments, guarantees, blended finance and public-private partnerships in partner countries. The Commission should also support global pooled procurement and equitable access mechanisms for vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics and other essential health technologies, drawing lessons from COVAX and ensuring that future emergency responses avoid fragmentation, export restrictions and national self-protection that undermine global preparedness.
Supporting global cooperation and multilateralism
Parliament reaffirmed its strong support for effective multilateralism, with the WHO at its centre, to close the current gaps in global health resilience. It underlined that the EU should continue to act as a reliable, long-term partner in addressing global health challenges and called for the EU to increase its political and financial support to multilateral organisations such as the WHO, Gavi (the Vaccine Alliance), the Global Fund and CEPI.
The EU and its Member States are called on to contribute to enhancing the WHO’s effectiveness, transparency and accountability. Members called for the EU to strengthen its role in global health governance, particularly by driving forward the work of the UN High-Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases.
Transparency
The Commission should improve the transparency, tracking and reporting of EU funding for global health, including under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe, by developing clear indicators to measure impact and effectiveness in terms of its contribution to strengthening health systems.
Countering health disinformation
Parliament called on the Commission and the Member States to strengthen and coordinate their efforts to counter health misinformation, disinformation and foreign information manipulation in partner countries, to rebuild trust in evidence-based public health policies, and to improve health literacy and vaccine confidence.
Way forward
The Commission is called on to present a clear roadmap and monitoring plan for implementing the communication entitled ‘Reinforcing global health resilience amidst geopolitical change’ and to report regularly to the Council and Parliament, including on the roll-out of the flagship initiatives included in the communication.
Lastly, Parliament highlighted the fact that the EU’s ambition to lead in global health must be backed by adequate, predictable and sustained financing for global health systems. It stressed the need to include global health resilience as an objective under the next multiannual financial framework, with a clear budgetary allocation under relevant instruments such as the Global Europe instrument and Horizon Europe.