Dear Colleagues,

Last week(end) three major global events were concluded: the Global Fund Replenishment, the G20 summit and COP 30, respectively in South Africa and Brazil – all with major global health implications. We come back on them in this newsletter, trying to explore where they are situated on the vast continuum between ‘empty multilateralism’  and a ‘victory for multilateralism’  (ps: arguably, the Global Fund replenishment is a bit different from the others, due to the somewhat unexpected continued US contribution, not exactly a multilateralism-minded powerhouse these days). As you know, for the pandemic treaty, a similar discussion is possible, to a great extent depending on whether negotiators will manage to secure a fair PABS annex or not in the coming months. Whereby I tend to agree with the ones arguing that  ‘holding the line in the current geopolitical environment’  is already a feat in itself, unfortunately.

In most abovementioned cases, the picture is...