Global Health – One Health

Resilient health systems

Health is a prerequisite for a self-determined life. However, medical care is often inadequate, particularly in developing countries and emerging economies. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH supports countries and institutions around the world in making health systems more resilient and in providing populations with improved health services. The ways it does so include by promoting training for health workers, by strengthening structures for the health of women and girls and by fostering effective treatment methods. In 2021 alone, GIZ helped provide nearly 95 million people with better health services.

A person and a bowl with vegetables along with written information on hunger and malnutrition.

A child and a nurse in the waiting room of a hospital depicted as schemes along with written information on health care.

A group of people and a person with a stethoscope and a syringe depicted as schemes along with written information on health care.

A woman, a child and an electronic health card depicted as schemes along with written information on better health insurance.

A water faucet, a water glass and two people depicted as schemes along with written information on drinking water supplies.

Bringing together climate change, biodiversity and health

More than three quarters of all newly emerging infectious diseases affecting humans originate in animals. Inadequate nature conservation and shrinking habitats are bringing humans and animals critically close to one another. GIZ pools its long-standing experience in the fields of health, food security, climate change adaptation and biodiversity conservation, because by preserving biodiversity, we also prevent pandemics.

An illustration of a house, a globe and a syringe.

Global solutions for fair health care

Diseases do not stop at national borders. International commercial and passenger transport, which is growing steadily, brings with it the threat of pandemics. GIZ supports regional organisations in developing cross-border infection protection plans. Mutual learning serves as a basis for controlling and fighting disease outbreaks and for fair health care. International hospital partnerships, in which health personnel from Germany and 58 countries share their expertise, are an example of this.

Fair vaccine distribution worldwide

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, multilateral work is showing how global health can be financed. One example is COVAX (COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access), a platform that pools global demand and resources regarding procurement of COVID-19 vaccines. GIZ is committed to the fair distribution of vaccines across the globe and supports partner countries in providing vaccines and educating the population. The long-term goal is to develop local vaccine production.