When it comes to emerging trends in international development and public health, global health security (GHS) is at the top of the list. It’s also at the heart of mitigating the impacts of present global health issues while preparing for those to come. True GHS means that there are strong systems and frameworks in place to prevent and respond to global health threats—threats such as the COVID-19 pandemic, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS.

As much of the world emerges from many of the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to keep the lessons we learned in mind as we work towards GHS for all. COVID-19 highlighted that the future of GHS requires a vision that addresses interrelated health care across countries and continents.

The current picture of GHS is governed and driven by many arms, including policy, governance, and health economics; infections of pandemic potential and pandemic preparedness; antimicrobial resistance; and climate change and health.

The convergence of these priorities describes in brief the complexity of future health priorities.

Looking back at the events of the pandemic, we can see that overall, countries were not prepared to respond to the multitude of health, logistical, and economic impacts that fall under these GHS arms. Going forward, we need to better understand how to “health proof” our world, ensuring that we are better equipped to deal with future threats.

Keeping GHS at the forefront of every aspect of our work is essential, and health system strengthening is essential to ensure global stability. The articles in this edition of The Catalyst Special Report are focused on our work in GHS, be it the fight against malaria, or our continued global work in preventing HIV/AIDS. Each article represents a key perspective, but in no way represents the whole of global health security, as it continues to be a complicated and ever-changing topic in the realm of public health.

Professor Ian Sanne
Palladium Chief Medical Officer