An updated definition of global health
Persistent URL
Author(s)
Jacobsen, Kathryn H.
Waggett, Caryl E.
Adeyi, Olusoji
Bruchhausen, Walter
Chowdhury, Shahanaz
Davidson, Patricia M.
Garzon-Villalba, Ximena
Gostin, Lawrence O.
Grant, Liz
Landrigan, Philip J.
Li, Hao
Raviglione, Mario C.
Reynolds, Nancy R.
Sewankambo, Nelson K.
Seymour, Brittany
Martin, Keith W.
Date Issued
October 28, 2025
Abstract
The most cited definition of global health, published in The Lancet in 2009, defines global health as "an area for study, research, and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide". In this article, we propose an updated definition that expresses the motivations of diverse global health actors and makes One Health and sustainability more visible: "Global health is a field of academic study, research, policy, and applied practice that advances the equitable protection and improvement of population and planetary health". Our "5 Ps model" illustrates global health as a grid that places health for all at the center of two axes representing four domains: (1) People, (2) Planet, (3) Priorities, and (4) Policies and Practices. The people-planet axis spans from social, economic, political, and other systems that affect human health to complex worldwide challenges such as those related to globalization, migration, pandemics, and climate change. The priorities-policies/practices axis positions global health as an action-oriented field in which factors such as human rights, international law, the global burden of disease, and evidence of economic impact inform the financing, implementation, and evaluation of multisectoral partnerships and interventions. We propose using this updated definition and the 5 Ps framework to modernize discussions of the scope and purpose of global health.
Journal
Global Health Research and Policy
Department
Global Health Studies
Citation
Jacobsen, K.H., Waggett, C.E., Adeyi, O. et al. An updated definition of global health. glob health res policy 10, 56 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41256-025-00460-8
Publisher
BMC
Version of Article
Published version
DOI
10.1186/s41256-025-00460-8
ISSN
2397-0642
Rights
© The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
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