Globalization and Health最新文献

{"title":"Exploitation or economic prosperity: corporate activities and Aboriginal self-determination in media discourse.","authors":"Jacob Cubis, Cassandra J C Wright, Clement Bresson, Teegan Wattam, Royce Ramsamy, Beau Cubillo","doi":"10.1186/s12992-026-01218-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12992-026-01218-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The political and regulatory environment in which people live can have profound impacts on health and wellbeing through practices that prioritise commercial development and interest over public health. For Aboriginal People, this is further undermined through corporate influence over Aboriginal autonomy, political and social participation, cultural preservation, economic and land control and, free prior and informed consent and decision-making capacity over their interests, referred to as self-determination.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study applies a content analysis to understand the intersection of this issue within media discourse focused on the Northern Territory of Australia. Articles were located through Factiva and Newsbank searches targeting commercial activities from the extractive resource, alcohol, and food industries that impact Aboriginal People and/or Communities from 2015 to 2025.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>One hundred and sixty-one articles were included in the analysis. The dominant narrative identified in the media articles focused on the economic contributions commercial development provided to Aboriginal Peoples (more commonly found in commercial news outlets and trade magazines), while a prominent counter-narrative focused on harm to Country and failures to consult Traditional Owners (more common in articles by the public broadcaster and Indigenous-owned media). Our findings challenge the notion of a single-victim narrative by illustrating how multiple stakeholders (i.e. industry, government, media, and at times civil society) collectively influence public discourse, which can either hinder or promote self-determination. Further, centring self-determination requires a suspension of assumptions about what is best for Aboriginal Peoples.</p>","PeriodicalId":12747,"journal":{"name":"Globalization and Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13344025/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148143150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Governance, structure, and access: a Bayesian hierarchical analysis of water, sanitation, and hygiene in South Asia.","authors":"Mohammad Naim Azimi, Mohammad Mafizur Rahman","doi":"10.1186/s12992-026-01219-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12992-026-01219-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) remains inadequate for large populations in South Asia, constrained by persistent structural inequalities, institutional weaknesses, and uneven development. This study investigates the complex interplay of structural, demographic, environmental, and institutional factors shaping WASH outcomes across eight South Asian countries over the period 2000-2024. Employing a Bayesian hierarchical linear model-robustly validated through alternative specifications-we provide a comprehensive probabilistic assessment of WASH outcomes. A key methodological contribution is the construction of a composite governance quality index using an autoencoder neural network based on six governance dimensions: voice and accountability, regulatory quality, political stability, control of corruption, government effectiveness, and rule of law.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Urbanisation improves sanitation access and reduces open defecation but strains water access, highlighting its dualistic nature. Health expenditures consistently enhance WASH outcomes. Economic capacity, sectoral vulnerability, precipitation shocks, and governance exhibit no direct impact. Education significantly improves water access and reduces open defecation. Population density exerts small but positive effects, suggesting economies of scale in service delivery. Digitalisation also emerges as a key driver of WASH outcomes, reflecting the growing role of information technology in service delivery and accountability mechanisms. A counterintuitive positive association between inequality and WASH outcomes suggests Kuznets-style transitional dynamics, where benefits initially accrue to more affluent groups. However, these relationships shift notably when governance is modelled as a moderator. Governance quality acts as a key moderating mechanism, amplifying the benefits of growth, urbanisation, and health spending while reshaping the influence of education and inequality.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Governance does not operate primarily as a direct driver of WASH outcomes. Instead, it acts as a critical enabling mechanism that shapes how structural factors translate into equitable access. Strengthening governance quality amplifies the effectiveness of sectoral investments and urbanisation policies-a finding with important implications for WASH policy and institutional reform across South Asia.</p>","PeriodicalId":12747,"journal":{"name":"Globalization and Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13435594/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148101340","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Shrinking appetites: Will GLP-1 adoption in high-income countries accelerate Big Food's push into low- and middle-income countries?","authors":"Brice Even, Abdul-Rahim Abdulai, Ramya Ambikapathi, Christophe Béné, Gina Kennedy, Mark Lundy","doi":"10.1186/s12992-026-01217-9","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12992-026-01217-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) based medicines (for example Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound) are moving rapidly from specialist care to mass adoption in high-income countries, with measurable effects on food purchases and eating patterns. Early retail and household panel data from the United States indicate that households with a GLP-1 user reduce total grocery spending by about 5% within six months, with larger declines among higher-income households and even more marked reductions in snacks and other energy-dense items. Major manufacturers are already deploying \"GLP-1-responsive\" strategies such as reformulation, smaller portion-size packaging, and \"GLP-1-friendly\" branding.</p><p><strong>Main body: </strong>We argue that if demand for energy-dense, ultra-processed products softens further in high-income markets, transnational food and beverage firms may hedge by redirecting and intensifying marketing pressure and portfolio growth towards some low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where regulatory frameworks often remain weaker and GLP-1 access remains uneven. This could add to the already rising burden of diet-related non-communicable diseases linked to ultra-processed foods and beverages in LMICs. The risk is sharpened by limited and inequitable access to GLP-1 therapies in these settings, even though most people living with overweight and obesity are projected to reside in LMICs by 2035. We outline plausible pathways for an LMIC GLP-1 \"spillover effect\", including intensified corporate political activity, more aggressive marketing, accelerated modern retail expansion; and more aggressive use of price promotions, pack size engineering, and premium \"healthier for you\" ultra-processed products.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Policymakers and global health actors should treat GLP-1 induced shifts in high income countries as an early warning signal. Precautionary, equity focused policies are needed to prevent potential GLP-1-related demand shift from translating into heightened commercial determinants of health in LMICs. Policy safeguards should include comprehensive restrictions on unhealthy food marketing including digital marketing; fiscally effective excise taxes on sugar sweetened beverages and other ultra-processed products; stronger management of conflicts of interest in food policy; and improved monitoring of retail food environments and corporate practices.</p>","PeriodicalId":12747,"journal":{"name":"Globalization and Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13430823/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148054175","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Commercial practices of the arms industry and implications for global public health: a scoping review.","authors":"Stephanie Meciar, Deborah Gleeson, Stacey Pizzino, Navid Teimouri, Katherine Cullerton","doi":"10.1186/s12992-026-01215-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12992-026-01215-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The arms industry and the global trade in weapons pose significant direct and indirect risks to population health and equity. While health-harming industries such as tobacco, alcohol, and ultra-processed foods have been extensively examined with a commercial determinants of health lens, the commercial strategies of the arms industry remain critically underexplored in public health research. To address this gap, we conducted a scoping review of peer-reviewed literature published between 2004 and 2024. Searches were undertaken across four academic databases (Web of Science, Scopus, ABI/INFORM, and Business Source Complete) and Google Scholar. Data were extracted and analysed using deductive and inductive coding, guided by a previously published typology of commercial practices: financial, political, scientific, marketing, supply chain and waste, labour and employment, and reputational management practices.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Forty-one studies met the inclusion criteria. Marketing and political practices were the most frequently reported, while supply chain and waste, financial, labour and employment, reputational management, and scientific practices were less common. Our review found that the arms industry not only engages in commercial practices identified within established commercial determinants of health frameworks but also employs additional strategies, such as bribery and corruption, worker surveillance, contesting worker illness claims, and a number of supply chain practices that extend beyond existing typologies. The majority of studies focused on firearms-related practices, particularly within the United States, while few addressed other arms industry sub-sectors such as major conventional weapons and nuclear weapons, and little attention was given to low- and middle-income countries.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Despite the scale and influence of the arms industry, its commercial sector practices remain largely overlooked in public health research. Greater scrutiny and recognition of the arms industry as a commercial determinant of health is essential to mitigate the health harms and inequities associated with the global production, proliferation, and use of weapons.</p>","PeriodicalId":12747,"journal":{"name":"Globalization and Health","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13217944/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148042082","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Strategic solidarity: solidarity and self-interest in Scandinavian contributions to global Covid-19 vaccine equity.","authors":"Katerini Tagmatarchi Storeng, Antoine de Bengy Puyvallée, Emma Sandvik Ling, Adam Moe Fejerskov","doi":"10.1186/s12992-026-01214-y","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12992-026-01214-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>During the Covid-19 pandemic, Nordic states were praised for leadership on global vaccine equity, notably through strong support for the Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) and COVAX. At the same time, like other high‑income countries, they took decisive measures to secure priority access to vaccines for their own populations, contributing to global inequities. Scholarship on global health security and diplomacy often treats global solidarity and national self-interest as a binary and focuses on great powers and inter-state dynamics, overlooking how domestic drivers also shape global pandemic response. This article instead proposes the concept of \"strategic solidarity\" to analyse how solidarity and self‑interest were combined and justified in Norwegian and Danish global health diplomacy during the acute phase of the pandemic (2020-2022).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Through analysis of three key policy debates - support for vaccine R&D; contributions to global vaccine distributions and positions on intellectual property reforms to boost vaccine supply - the article shows how Norway and Denmark simultaneously enabled and constrained multilateral efforts for vaccine equity. Domestic political pressures, public opinion, national identity narratives, and inter-ministerial tensions shaped how authorities practiced multi‑level diplomacy and managed trade‑offs between national protection and global commitments. Strategic solidarity operated both as a policy orientation distinct from purely security‑driven logics and as a justificatory frame used to reconcile apparent policy incoherence and sustain the countries' self‑images as solidaristic states.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Strategic solidarity better captures the empirical reality of pandemic policymaking than a strict solidarity/self‑interest dichotomy and can inform the design of future mechanisms for more equitable global health responses.</p>","PeriodicalId":12747,"journal":{"name":"Globalization and Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13196229/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147981489","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ultra-processed foods: challenging corporate power and promoting local food systems to reclaim health.","authors":"Angela Carriedo, Mary Labbé, T Alafia Samuels, Kent Buse","doi":"10.1186/s12992-026-01212-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12992-026-01212-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The 2025 Lancet Series on ultra-processed foods (UPFs) marks a turning point in global health by reframing UPFs not simply as unhealthy products, but as outcomes of food systems shaped by corporate power, trade liberalisation, and extractive economic models. The Series demonstrates that UPFs are a distinct category of harm and a major structural driver of the global obesity crisis, with profound implications for equity, sustainability, and food sovereignty. This commentary builds on the Series to identify pathways for effective policy and civil society action, focusing on the political economy of UPF proliferation and the role of local and community-based food systems in countering corporate power. It also considers structural constraints on government action, including limited fiscal capacity linked to sovereign debt and restricted policy space. In line with the Series, we encourage civic action to advance food policies in all countries, including taxation, legislation on the right to food, statutory restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy foods, and mandatory front-of-package warning labels. Strengthening food sovereignty through community financing and support for small-scale producers is a critical but underdeveloped lever for obesity prevention and health equity. We contend that, in the face of globally organised UPF industries, local action requires sustained support. This involves protecting civic space and securing sustainable financing for civil society, potentially through health-related fiscal revenues, so it can organise, participate meaningfully, and hold both states and corporations accountable. Regulating the food industry is essential to creating healthier food environments. Scaling local food systems, in turn, requires supportive national policies and strengthened global governance, including stronger safeguards against corporate interference and, potentially, treaty-level mechanisms. We outline how the World Obesity Federation can support this agenda by amplifying evidence from the Lancet Series, facilitating policy learning, strengthening alliances, building coalitions, and promoting accountability. Together, these actions can help shift food systems away from UPFs towards healthier, more equitable, and sustainable futures.</p>","PeriodicalId":12747,"journal":{"name":"Globalization and Health","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13191919/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147981543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Improving health sector coordination for resilient healthcare systems: European lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic.","authors":"Stefano Guicciardi, Michael A Stoto, Chiara Reno, Federico Toth, Svetla Tsolova, Maria Pia Fantini","doi":"10.1186/s12992-026-01216-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12992-026-01216-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of integrating the concepts of Public Health Emergency Preparedness and health system resilience, emphasizing the role of coordination across sectors, which is essential for ensuring that systems can respond effectively to public health threats and manage resources efficiently. This paper aims to summarize the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic among European Union Member States, focusing on gaps and improvement areas within coordination of healthcare services.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The study analyzes the experience of Croatia, Finland, Germany, Italy, and Spain during the initial phase of the pandemic. These countries were selected for their diverse organizational structures and varying responses to COVID-19. The research involved literature reviews, analyses of pandemic preparedness plans, and interviews with national focal points and experts. Key areas of public health emergency capabilities were examined using the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Logic Model developed in 2017, with a particular focus on coordination of health services.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The analysis focused on four capabilities in the health services domain. Among them, coordination of population-based medicine emerged as a key element in integrating public health and primary care during pandemics and to ensure consistent and coherent response within the whole health system. Common challenges included organizational fragmentation and communication barriers, which hindered effective coordination across healthcare services.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The COVID-19 pandemic revealed, at national, regional and local levels, several gaps in coordination between hospitals, primary care, and public health services. At the same time, it provided lessons on measures that countries can implement to enhance Public Health Emergency Preparedness and thus resilience of health systems, for future health emergencies. By fostering collaboration between services and addressing systemic barriers, healthcare systems can enhance coordination and deliver high-quality, patient-centered care​. More than anything, the pandemic underscored the importance of effective leadership and system adaptability strongly aligned with comprehensive emergency plans that clearly outline in advance tasks, responsibilities and procedures. Furthermore, creating effective communication channels and tools can significantly improve information exchange between healthcare providers and emergency responders, ensuring timely and efficient responses to emerging health threats.</p>","PeriodicalId":12747,"journal":{"name":"Globalization and Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13361101/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147959673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Building a case for accelerated clinical development of drugs and vaccines - what are the driving forces?","authors":"Loïs C van Eck, Clàudia Pallisé Perelló, Natalie Evans, Mariëtte A van den Hoven, Martin P Grobusch, Sabine M Hermans, Hanna K de Jong","doi":"10.1186/s12992-026-01213-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12992-026-01213-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The COVID-19 pandemic, among others, has shown the world that rapid drug and vaccine development and expedited clinical trials can be effective and safe. The overall benefit of accelerating clinical development would be faster public access to medicines. In this study, we explore key stakeholders' experiences and perceptions of drivers for the acceleration of clinical development.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted semi-structured interviews with policy advisors and experts from key stakeholder groups involved in clinical development, identified via a power-interest stakeholder analysis. Thematic analysis was used to identify analytic themes.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Twenty-five participants were interviewed representing pharmaceutical companies, the European Medicines Agency, national competent authorities in the EU, different research and clinical development organizations, including non-governmental organizations, and the World Health Organization. Drivers facilitating acceleration of clinical development could be grouped into three themes: alignment of stakeholders, innovative research design and processes, and financing. Some barriers of systematic acceleration were raised within these themes: European disharmony in trials practice, regulations and guidance; fragmentation of efforts; bureaucracy and the complexity of the Clinical Trials Information System (CTIS) submission process; and financial neglect for poverty-related diseases.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>To sustainably accelerate clinical development, future policies should facilitate collaboration and communication between stakeholders and work to minimize technical and bureaucratic barriers.</p>","PeriodicalId":12747,"journal":{"name":"Globalization and Health","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13169579/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147928704","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"WHO's 2026 emergency appeal and global health security.","authors":"Yusuf Hared Abdi, Sharmake Gaiye Bashir, Walid Abdulkadir Osman, Ahmed Abdinasir Abdulle","doi":"10.1186/s12992-026-01211-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12992-026-01211-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The World Health Organization’s 2026 global appeal seeks nearly US$1 billion to sustain life-saving health interventions amid escalating humanitarian crises. This Letter highlights persistent funding shortfalls affecting fragile and conflict-affected states, including Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, where service suspensions and outbreaks have compounded morbidity and mortality. Despite WHO and partners reaching millions in 2025, financing remains insufficient, jeopardizing maternal and child health, outbreak response, and health system resilience. We argue that predictable, front-loaded financing is critical to support local actors, strengthen health systems, and safeguard global health security. Integrating climate-resilient infrastructure, One Health surveillance, and equity-focused strategies can mitigate preventable deaths and stabilize vulnerable populations. The 2026 appeal represents a strategic investment in global health and security, and by mobilizing front-loaded, flexible support alongside sustained assessed contributions requires urgent international solidarity and collective action.</p>","PeriodicalId":12747,"journal":{"name":"Globalization and Health","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13091268/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147716600","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Why health diplomacy should be understood as a deterrence instrument: evidence from Sweden's health system.","authors":"Matteo Maria Cati","doi":"10.1186/s12992-026-01210-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12992-026-01210-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sweden’s health system is increasingly exposed to strategic vulnerabilities arising from globalised pharmaceutical supply chains, medicine shortages, antimicrobial resistance, and hybrid geopolitical threats. In a period of heightened international tension, safeguarding health security has become an urgent policy concern. While the securitisation of health diplomacy raises ethical and political challenges, this article argues that health diplomacy should be understood not only as a cooperative instrument but also as a form of deterrence that operates through governance integration, transparency, and strategic interdependence, strengthening national resilience. In this context, deterrence refers to reducing the incentives and opportunities for adversarial actors to exploit health-system vulnerabilities, such as pharmaceutical shortages or supply-chain disruptions, to generate societal disruption, undermine public trust, or exert political pressure. Focusing on Sweden, the article shows how deeper Nordic and European Union coordination enhances anticipatory capacity, stabilises access to critical medicines, particularly antibiotics, and reinforces crisis communication and public trust. Positioning health diplomacy within broader security architectures can support continuity of care during systemic stress while remaining anchored in civilian governance and global health norms.</p>","PeriodicalId":12747,"journal":{"name":"Globalization and Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":6.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13214314/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147689755","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}