From the discovery of penicillin to the development of one of the world’s first COVID-19 vaccines, the UK’s contribution to global health has long shaped its diplomatic reach and global standing. For decades, British universities and research institutes have quietly powered global progress – advancing lifesaving science, training generations of health leaders, and shaping equitable access to innovation.

In an era where the use of soft power is all the more important to mitigate growing global conflict, UK science remains one of Britain’s greatest diplomatic assets. However, as funding for global health and research partnerships tightens, the UK’s ability to continue driving progress on the world’s most pressing health challenges is under growing threat.

The UK has a strong heritage of scientific contribution to global health, with an array of prestigious institutions that have shaped the world’s response to infectious diseases, from malaria elimination and vaccine development to the scale-up of HIV prevention and treatment.

The work of UK research institutions and universities does more than deliver scientific breakthroughs. It also creates global public goods through the data, evidence, and tools that underpin public health programmes worldwide. These collaborations, often supported through UK Aid and critical partnerships with organisations such as Unitaid, WHO, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, have enabled millions to access life-saving interventions more affordably and effectively.

The stakes have never been higher. Despite remarkable progress over the past two decades, AIDS remains one of the world’s deadliest diseases.^[1] By the end of 2024, an estimated 40 million people were living with HIV, with 630,000 dying of HIV-related illnesses.^[2]

However, there is hope. A defining moment for the global HIV response came this year with the announcement of a historic price agreement for generic lenacapavir (LEN), a breakthrough long-acting injectable offering six months of HIV prevention with a single injection. Described by many as the closest thing yet to an HIV vaccine, lenacapavir could transform prevention for those facing stigma or limited access to health facilities. Unitaid and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), alongside the Gates Foundation, secured two price agreements at just US$40 per year, with earlier commitments also made by the Global Fund and President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to reach two million people within three years.

Behind this milestone lies UK science. Research by the University of Liverpool’s Centre of Excellence for Long-Acting Therapeutics provided the cost-modelling that helped underpin this price; a quiet but powerful example of British influence through evidence.

Beyond lenacapavir, UK research institutions have consistently delivered breakthroughs that have transformed global health. The London School for Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) led the trials and evidence generation for new malaria vaccines, including RTS,S – the first malaria vaccine recommended by WHO – now protecting hundreds of thousands of children in Africa.^[3] The University of Liverpool and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine have been at the forefront of long-acting HIV therapeutics and helped develop innovative delivery models for injectable PrEP. The Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC) developed next-generation insecticide-treated bed nets that have dramatically reduced malaria transmission across multiple countries.^[4] These examples show how UK science does not just generate knowledge; it saves lives at scale, strengthens health systems, and reinforces the country’s global reputation as a hub for innovation.

Global health collaboration has long been one of the UK’s most effective tools of influence, building lasting relationships of trust. This network of scientific diplomacy enhances the UK’s reputation not just as a funder, but as a partner open to co-creating solutions in global health through science and innovation. The partnerships generated through decades of research collaboration cannot be manufactured and are earned through impact. And at a time when many countries are opting to look inwards, this kind of outward-facing, partnership-driven leadership is precisely what is needed.

However, as the world saw during the COVID-19 pandemic, innovation alone is not enough. While UK institutions helped shape vaccine research and delivery, global access was hampered by inequities in supply, manufacturing, and intellectual property. Ensuring that future breakthroughs, from malaria vaccines to long-acting HIV prevention, are accessible to all must remain a core test of the UK’s global health leadership. In an era when political leaders like Donald Trump are undermining scientific research and multilateral cooperation, the UK has an opportunity to strengthen its soft power by championing equitable, evidence-driven science in genuine partnership with Southern-based institutions. The UK must ensure that publicly funded research delivers public benefit, both at home and abroad, to promote and strengthen equitable global access to innovation.

Drawing on its history of scientific excellence, the UK has made significant and lasting contributions to global health and the fight against infectious diseases ranging from foundational medical breakthroughs to the development of modern vaccines and ongoing research. Yet this form of soft power cannot be taken for granted. Cuts to global health and research funding risk weakening the very partnerships that give the UK global credibility.

To sustain the progress made to date in global health, alongside the UK’s influence, the government must protect funding for global health R&D and strengthen partnerships both with British research institutions and critical multilateral initiatives, such as Unitaid, WHO, and the Global Fund which turn innovation into access. In doing so, Britain can demonstrate that its global health leadership is not only about what it invents, but also about ensuring those innovations reach everyone who needs them.

Molly Thompson is Senior Advocacy Advisor at STOPAIDS. STOPAIDS is an HIV, health and human rights advocacy network of 50 UK international development agencies working globally to end AIDS and realise all people’s right to health and wellbeing.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this piece are those of the individual author and do not reflect the views of The Foreign Policy Centre.

^[1] UN News, AIDS still killing one person every minute as funding cuts stall progress, June 2025, https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1164111

^[2] The Global Health Observatory, HIV, https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/hiv-aids

^[3] London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, MRCG at LSHTM’s integral role in the development of the RTS,S malaria vaccine, January 2024, https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/news/2024/mrcg-lshtms-integral-role-development-rtss-malaria-vaccine

^[4] Insecticide Treated Nets (ITN), New Nets Project (NNP), IVCC, https://www.ivcc.com/project/new-nets-project