“Health is no longer a purely technical domain but a core element of geopolitical stability.”

In a world sensitized by Covid-19 to the risks of unusual infectious diseases, news of outbreaks of Hantavirus and the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola attracted widespread media attention. The circumstances were very different, but they should not be seen as isolated events. Rather, they are signals of a deeper shift in global health, where vulnerabilities are shaped as much by politics as by pathogens themselves.

Anja Schreijer, Medical Director of the PDPC, and colleagues recently published an Editorial in the European Journal of Public health, in which they address the importance of equity in preparedness and the role of Europe in global cooperation.

The authors underscore that it is essential for the international community to fill the vacuum left by US disengagement from the WHO and other organizations, and that they see an opportunity for Europe to step forward and reinforce and renew global cooperation. Moreover, they stress that without fair, worldwide access to resources, technologies, and decision-making, preparedness will fail.

This Editorial was first published on June 17, 2026 in the European Journal of Public Health:

Schreijer, A. Correia, T., McKee, M., Albreht, T., Timen, A., Ganczak, M., Holohan, T. (2026). Europe must act: rethinking global health preparedness without the United States. European Journal of Public Health.

Read the publication here!