In a significant series of developments shaping global health policy and cooperation in 2025-26, international institutions and national governments have been crafting and updating frameworks aimed at strengthening how the world collectively responds to health challenges — from public health emergencies to traditional medicine integration. These actions reflect an evolving landscape where cooperation, ethical norms, and strategic coordination are taking center stage in global health governance.
One of the most important global plans currently guiding health cooperation is the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Fourteenth General Programme of Work for 2025–2028 (GPW 14). This framework lays out a comprehensive agenda to align global health responses with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), building on lessons from previous global health crises and emphasizing resilience, equity, and broad stakeholder collaboration. Its goals include expanding universal health coverage, strengthening disease prevention and preparedness, and improving health system resilience across countries of all income levels.
Alongside these strategic directions, the WHO has introduced practical tools to support cooperation in times of emergency. In late 2025, the agency launched the National Health Emergency Alert and Response Framework, a guidance designed to help countries establish stronger surveillance, alert systems, and coordinated responses to avoid repeat failures seen during past outbreaks. This represents a tangible step toward standardizing emergency protocols and ensuring better cross-border coordination when a health threat emerges.
At the same time, regional and thematic cooperation efforts are gaining momentum. For example, India has actively participated in WHO forums to bolster international collaboration on the regulation of herbal and traditional medicines — signaling an openness to integrate diverse medical practices into global health dialogues and develop shared regulatory standards. This was highlighted during a WHO meeting in Jakarta where India reiterated its commitment to science-based, harmonised regulation in traditional and herbal health products alongside other nations.
Another key initiative is the International Consensus Framework for Ethical Collaboration in Health, which was updated in 2025 to include principles on the responsible use of health data and technology. Supported by prominent international health professional organizations, this framework aims to build trust and ethical practices within complex global health ecosystems — especially important given the accelerating use of digital health technologies and AI in healthcare systems worldwide.
Global platforms have also been hosting high-level dialogue on redefining health systems. For instance, the second WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine held in New Delhi brought representatives from over 100 countries to discuss holistic approaches to health and to integrate scientific evidence with traditional health systems for primary care. The resulting “Delhi Declaration” underscored global recognition of the role that traditional practices can play in broader health strategies and encouraged collaborative research, innovation, and shared knowledge across different systems.
Yet these cooperative strides occur alongside geopolitical tensions that challenge global health unity. A major recent development is the formal withdrawal of the United States from the WHO in January 2026, ending nearly eight decades of membership. This move has raised serious concerns among global health experts about funding shortfalls, reduced influence in international health decision-making, and potential fragmentation of global disease surveillance and vaccine strategies. Critics argue that the exit might undermine established mechanisms for global coordination on health threats, although informal engagements and alternate bilateral partnerships may still persist.
Other discussions on future global health cooperation extend into proposals for redesigning health governance structures. Thought leaders commissioned by the Wellcome Trust have advanced bold ideas for reimagining a more equitable, inclusive, and regionally informed global health architecture — ideas that, if adopted, could influence negotiations in multilateral forums and shape health governance for decades.
Taken together, these strategic frameworks, summit outcomes, and policy shifts demonstrate that global health cooperation in 2025-26 is in a state of active evolution. Countries and international bodies are striving not only to respond to immediate health challenges but also to build institutional frameworks, ethical standards, and collaborative roadmaps that make collective action more effective and equitable in an increasingly interconnected world.