Kuala Lumpur, 22 April 2025 –Recent trends, including increased corporate lobbying and record profits of monopolistic companies in the food, healthcare, and tech sectors, have highlighted the growing influence of private actors on health outcomes and public policy. This has created significant tension between commercial interests and public health. In this context, an international symposium on global health, focused on the negative impacts of powerful private actors on health and health systems, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, concluded at the Holiday Inn in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur.
Convened by the United Nations University International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH) and the Malaysia-based Third World Network, the symposium, titled “Strengthening Global Health Governance: Defending the Public Interest and Holding Powerful Private Actors Accountable,” included over 100 health experts from across the world. Sessions addressed urgent challenges such as the role of transnational corporations in undermining access to essential medicines and the impact of financialization on health service delivery in low- and middle-income countries.
The symposium, co-sponsored by the World Health Organization, Oxfam, and the University of Oslo’s Collective on the Political Determinants of Health, also discussed the rising global concentration of private wealth and its influence on governance and public-interest policy.
Dr. Revati Phalkey, Director of UNU-IIGH, emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating, “This symposium comes at a critical juncture. While painful budget cuts are being made to the World Health Organisation and many vital health programmes, private entities with commercial interests appear to be gaining more influence in the health sector. This raises urgent questions about accountability.”
Dr. Monika Kosinska of WHO highlighted the two-sided role of private actors, noting, "While businesses and private markets play a key role in producing and supplying the goods and services we consume every day, powerful corporations with commercial interests have also played a key role in driving consumption of health-harming products, blocking regulations to protect health or the environment and aggravating health inequalities between and within countries. Good health for all is not only a medical and public health concern, but also a matter of effective governance.”
Prof. David McCoy, Research Lead at UNU-IIGH, presented stark data on global inequality, stating, “The combined wealth of the world’s 2,781 billionaires, who are 0.00003% of the world’s population, hit US$14.2 trillion in 2024. At the same time, nearly half of humanity, representing 3.6 billion people, live below the World Bank income poverty line of $6.85/day. Inequalities are also growing within many countries with evidence that greater inequality produces poorer health for the poor and the middle classes alike.”
Chee Yoke Ling, Executive Director of Third World Network, clarified the symposium's stance on the role of business, explaining, “The symposium has not challenged the role of businesses or markets as such in society. Instead, [it] challenged the way political and economic systems are structured and called for new rules and regulations to prioritize the rights and entitlements of all peoples.”
Throughout the day, experts analyzed the structural forces shaping global health. The session on “Inequality, Neoliberalism and the World of Perma- and Poly-crisis,” for instance, highlighted the need for systemic changes to address health disparities in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in the face of climate change, pandemics, and conflict.
The panel on “The Corporate Drivers of Global Warming, Disease and Illness” called for stronger corporate accountability mechanisms and for Ministries of Health from around the world to lobby their Ministries of Finance to support current discussions about establishing an international tax treaty that would prevent corporate tax abuse that costed countries a minimum of $347billion in 2024 alone.
The symposium concluded with a powerful call for accountability in the system of global health governance, demanding that systems be established to prioritize the public interest and hold powerful private actors responsible for their impact on health. Participants emphasized the need for increased transparency, stronger regulatory frameworks, and greater collaboration between governments, civil society, and international organizations. The participants committed to ongoing efforts to monitor the influence of private actors and advocate for policies that ensure equitable access to health and well-being for all.
For further details or inquiries, please contact:
Silvia Fancello, Communications Associate, UNU-IIGH
📧 silvia.fancello@unu.edu
