Geopolitical Realignments and the Ongoing Evolution of the New World Order: Reassessing the Implications for Global Health
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The global geopolitical landscape is undergoing a profound restructuring, with direct implications for health governance, financing, and equity.This paper reassesses trajectories outlined in an April 2025 analysis against accelerated shifts including U.S. withdrawal from the WHO, widespread donor retrenchment, tariff-driven supply chain disruptions, and the introduction of the America First Global Health Strategy.Employing realist international relations theory, globalization and health frameworks, and political determinants of health, the study examines how reduced multilateralism and intensified nationalism shape health outcomes.Evidence indicates the emergence of the "realistic scenario" characterized by fragmented multilateralism, strengthened regional architectures, and selective bilateralism.Case studies include BRICS health initiatives, Africa CDC's expanded mandate, ASEAN health security mechanisms, and evolving financing innovations such as health taxes and debt-for-health swaps.Findings reveal widening inequities, weakened global standards, and increasing complexity in health governance.Yet, regional leadership and South-South cooperation offer adaptive alternatives, suggesting a polycentric global health order.The paper underscores both the risks of fragmentation and the opportunities for innovation, recommending distributed governance, diversified financing, resilient supply chains, and equitable digital health adoption.The analysis concludes that the ongoing fragmentation of health governance, financing, and practice has already resulted in substantial human costs and threatens to reverse decades of progress, underscoring the urgency of developing sustainable and equitable approaches to global health.
Authors: Ana Rita Gonzalez, Lucila Vignoli, Amit Kumar Mehto, Allira Attwill, Namita Srivastava, Hilary Felton, Patricia Salazar
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4414395313
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