Australia must come to the party with more money to combat climate-related health issues, antimicrobial resistance and future pandemics.
That’s the bottom line of research that indicates the well-off nation is not pulling enough weight on the world stage to understand, anticipate and respond to emerging international health threats.
The Australian government spent just under $630 billion on health between 2017 and 2023, according to a report commissioned by the Australian Global Health Alliance.
About $35 billion was directed to health and medical research but just $2 billion was specifically set aside for global research.
The country must increase and realign its funding to address and anticipate global health challenges more effectively, the report said.
“Despite commendable efforts, Australia’s investment in global health research lags behind its international peers,” it said.
“Key areas such as the impact of climate change on health, antimicrobial resistance, and pandemic preparedness are notably underfunded.”
Alliance executive director Selina Namchee Lo said the global scientific community was successful in rapidly delivering vaccines and treatments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But where it fell short was equity, with some of the hardest-hit countries missing out.
“What we’re saying is equity is not optional for global health,” Dr Lo told AAP.
Another report, also commissioned by the alliance with Pacific Friends of Global Health, detailed the impact of two Australian-backed global public private partnerships in the Indo-Pacific.
Australia has collectively poured more than $2.5 billion into The Global Fund and Gavi since 2000, helping to immunise more than 100 million children and save lives in the region.
But the country’s level of foreign aid has been been in “significant decline” since 2012, stagnating at $US3 billion annually over the past seven years.
The multilateral aid landscape is “under pressure” after the US and UK reduced their commitments, the report said.
It comes after US President Donald Trump’s administration dismantled the US Agency for International Development, cutting funding to its aid programs worldwide.
Dr Lo, who has nearly three decades experience in global and international health, said the abrupt exit of USAID left communities “in the lurch”.
“It’s never good to have one group, whether it’s a philanthropist or a country, be a monopoly,” she said.
“Because when they pull out, this is what happens.”
The Indo-Pacific still accounts for 25 per cent of global infections, with 6.7 million people in the region living with HIV and malaria rampant in Papua New Guinea.
Pacific Friends of Global Health chair Brendan Crabb wants Australia to take up the mantle.
“As the US administration dramatically steps back from global health leadership, Australia has a critical opportunity to convene and partner with Asia Pacific countries to advance the health priorities of the region,” the Burnet Institute chief executive said.
https://thewest.com.au/news/health/australia-called-to-lift-on-global-health-as-us-yields-c-19494702
