G2H2 Annual Report 2019

Dear Member and Friends,

The world is facing unprecedented times. First Europe, after East Asia the second global epicentre of the new SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and then increasingly all countries worldwide have implemented historically unprecedented measures to curb the spread of the virus. The economic engine of globalization has ground to a dramatic halt in the last weeks and months since January 2020.

The crisis has dramatically impacted patients and families, has overburdened health systems and health workers, triggered unemployment, eviscerated livelihoods and curtailed the social and political rights of the people in almost all countries. As such, it is raising societal awareness about the fact that public universal healthcare is the most important global good, and that international cooperation particularly when dealing with health emergencies, is crucial. And the WHO, as the UN agency responsible for global health, is occupying the centre of the geopolitical stage, where the US-China conflict is being played out. This is also raising the profile and challenging the mission of the Geneva Global Health Hub (G2H2).

Thanks to its growing membership, increasing number of activities, and a very professional secretariat, G2H2 is now recognized as a uniquely independent, competent, multidisciplinary space for information sharing, policy dialogue and technical reflection on global health. The value of our autonomy cannot be overstated, especially at this inflexion point in global health policy. Our freedom of initiative and collective outreach capacity give G2H2 considerable scope to interact not only with WHO officials and individual Member States, but also with technical experts and the academics from all over the world.

Although our funding has always been tight, we have succeeded in developing our base in the Geneva public health community, constantly attracting new memberships from entities associated with health, food and nutrition, and health financing, among other sectors. As a self-funded entity that relies on membership fees – a topic we raised in the 2019 AGM – our sustainability remains a key priority for G2H2.

Andreas Wulf
President

…………………………
The Annual Report of the Geneva Global Health Hub can be downloaded here:
G2H2 Annual Report 2019