Global health research and development (R&D) is entering a period of acute vulnerability. The US is withdrawing from multilateral health commitments it once anchored and major donors are cutting development funding, all while climate change and conflicts are accelerating the emergence of new health threats. Against this backdrop, the EU has signalled a renewed commitment to global health leadership, mostly through the announcement of the Global Health Resilience Initiative (GHRI), yet this ambition risks being undermined from within. The EU’s sharpening focus on industrial competitiveness threatens to redirect priorities inward, crowding out global health when it demands greater investment.
Within this landscape, the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) is well placed to lead the EU’s efforts to strengthen international R&D collaboration. It has made much progress on advancing bilateral and multi-stakeholder partnerships; however, its external mandate remains underfunded and its engagement with low- and middle-income countries is largely project-based rather than capacity-building oriented.
Drawing on an analysis of HERA’s international partnerships and Horizon Europe funding flows, this paper examines how the upcoming GHRI and Multiannual Financial Framework can be leveraged to strengthen HERA’s global health R&D footprint. It proposes concrete actions for the Commission to ensure that HERA is adequately resourced, strategically coherent, and positioned to deliver on the EU’s global health ambitions.
