The 7 April marks World Health Day, with this year’s theme: “Together for Health. Stand with Science.” The United Kingdom has long excelled at the latter. As a global leader in scientific research and innovation, UK institutions continue to shape the trajectory of global health. Yet the “Together for Health” component is increasingly under strain. Recent reductions in Official Development Assistance (ODA), including cuts to key global health initiatives, risk undermining the partnerships, trust, and sustained engagement required to translate scientific excellence into equitable global impact.
With only four years left until the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the global health agenda is at a critical inflection point.[1] Progress on many health indicators has stalled; fragile health systems are under strain; new shocks from climate-driven disease patterns to conflict; lingering effects of pandemic disruption; and donor withdrawals all threaten hard-won gains.
While scientific discovery and innovation continue to expand what is possible in global health, progress on many health targets remains fragile, uneven, and deeply inequitable. This presents a defining opportunity for the United Kingdom to deepen its leadership in global health, not only by advancing science, but by ensuring it is mobilised through meaningful and sustained partnerships. If the UK chooses to bridge its world-leading scientific research and innovation with strategic political will and sustained financing, it can help advance health as a global public good whilst strengthening human rights. This choice is simply not possible if the UK continues to underappreciate and under-invest in its critical global role, impacting development co-operation for global progress and stability as well as reducing the benefit and soft power of the UK.
UK Soft Power
UK universities and research institutions remain one of the strongest examples of the UK’s soft power. UK science produces knowledge and innovation that directly shapes global health policy and practice.
These contributions not only improve health outcomes but also build networks of trust and collaboration, reinforcing the UK’s credibility on the world stage. Yet research alone is not enough. Soft power is most effective when combined with policy influence, sustained financing, and strong partnerships.
In this context, soft power must be understood not as a tool for advancing narrow national interest, but as a means of enabling collective progress through genuine equal global partnerships. At a time when global health is increasingly shaped by inward-looking, “country-first” approaches, the UK has an opportunity to model a different path, one where scientific leadership, financing, and partnerships are used to advance shared health outcomes and promote greater equity in global systems.
The UK’s leadership in global health now means turning innovation into accessible, rights-based solutions for those who need them most in close and equal partnership with impacted countries and communities in the Global South. Solutions must be driven by the priorities and needs of those most affected by the issues they are seeking to address, and implementation must be locally led by all impacted stakeholders.
Reforming the Global Health Architecture
With multiple recent and upcoming processes taking place on global health architecture reform, from the Lusaka agenda (FGHI) to WHO GHA Reform and UN80 Process, the UK has an opportunity to influence decision-making, align international commitments with domestic expertise, and promote coordinated, sustainable approaches.[2]
Engaging meaningfully across these parallel reform processes is essential to operationalising a truly “together” approach to global health, ensuring that the UK’s research, diplomacy, and investment are mutually reinforcing. By doing so, the UK can help shape a health architecture that is more equitable, resilient, and responsive to emerging challenges. Convening partners, as the UK will do at the May Global Partnerships Conference, is necessary but not sufficient.[3] True leadership requires sustained engagement and predictable investment; without continued ODA support, the UK risks weakening the very partnerships and multilateral mechanisms that underpin its credibility and impact in global health.
The example of HIV as a model for International Development
Looking back over the past two decades of development co-operation, the global HIV response stands out as one of the landmark demonstrations of progress. Among all the SDG targets, many which will not be met by 2030, the target to end AIDS as a public health threat is one of the few that is realistically achievable. As such, looking both back and forward, the HIV response is an arrowhead for demonstrating the power of international development and how it can be reframed and improved for the future.
The HIV response demonstrates that measurable progress requires sustained investment, strong multilateral coordination, and community-led and human rights-centred approaches. Crucially, the HIV response shows what it means in practice to deliver health “together”; aligning global financing, scientific innovation, and community leadership to achieve shared outcomes. However, these principles, of course, extend beyond HIV, providing a framework for advancing broader health outcomes, including maternal and child health, pandemic preparedness, and universal health coverage as well as development at large.
The UK’s domestic ambition to eliminate new HIV transmissions by 2030 is a critical target but one that cannot be separated from the global HIV response. By prioritising HIV within its domestic health agenda as well as its broader development agenda, the UK can show how targeted, evidence-based interventions can have mutually reinforcing benefits both at home and abroad.
Leadership in practice
Building on lessons from the HIV response, global health leadership is ultimately a matter of choice. This choice must be clearly articulated and framed within bold political commitment. The UK should build on its existing prioritisation of global health to build a strong shared commitment with partners to ending AIDS as a public health threat globally by 2030. This can be achieved through the upcoming UN High Level Meeting on HIV this year but also even through its leadership of the G20 in 2027
In addition, the UK’s contributions to key global health institutions, such as The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Unitaid, UNAIDS, and the Robert Carr Fund, are essential for sustaining progress in the HIV response, supporting country transitions, and protecting vulnerable populations.[4] Strategic, predictable investment not only amplifies impact but also reinforces credibility, strengthens partnerships, and underpins the UK’s reputation as a reliable global health actor. Beyond the moral imperative, such investment reflects a commitment to shared global progress, while prevention and early intervention reduce long-term costs, strengthen economies, and protect societies against future health shocks.
By pairing sustained investment with world-class research, the UK can translate funding and influence into tangible health outcomes. Its universities and research institutions, working alongside organisations such as Unitaid, help develop cutting-edge health technologies and interventions, ensuring scientific discoveries are transformed into practical solutions that reach the communities who need them most. This combination of research, innovation, and partnership bridges the gap between scientific breakthroughs and real-world impact, demonstrating leadership in action. By strengthening research capacity, linking evidence to policy and practice, and supporting country-led solutions, the UK can ensure that global health innovation is not only advanced, but shared.
On World Health Day, the UK has a genuine opportunity not only to stand for science but to fully realise what it means to act together to shape the next phase of global health and accelerate progress toward concrete and achievable SDG targets, like ending AIDS as a public health threat. By sustaining investment, leveraging research excellence, and cultivating meaningful partnerships, including with Unitaid and other global health actors, the UK can strengthen health systems, advance equitable landmark outcomes on killer diseases like HIV, and cement its role as a principled and credible leader on the world stage.
Mike Podmore is Chief Executive Officer of STOPAIDS, and Molly Thompson is a Senior Advocacy Advisor at STOPAIDS. STOPAIDS is an HIV, health and human rights advocacy network of civil society organisations 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] United Nations, 17 Goals, Sustainable Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, https://sdgs.un.org/goals
[2] Future of Global Health Initiatives, The Lusaka Agenda: Conclusions of the Future of Global Health Initiatives Process, https://futureofghis.org/final-outputs/lusaka-agenda/; Director-General, Reform of the global health architecture and the UN80 Initiative, Executive Board, 158th session, Provisional agenda item 29.1, EB158/44, World Health Organization, December 2025, https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB158/B158_44-en.pdf
[3] Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, The Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP and The Rt Hon Baroness Chapman of Darlington, Global Partnerships Conference to build new international coalitions to tackle shared challenges, Press release, Gov.uk, February 2026, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/global-partnerships-conference-to-build-new-international-coalitions-to-tackle-shared-challenges
[4] The Global Fund, https://www.theglobalfund.org/en/; Unitaid, https://unitaid.org/; UNAIDS, https://www.unaids.org/en; Robert Carr Fund, https://robertcarrfund.org/