Global partnerships and the Chief Medical Officer's 2019 annual report

Non-communicable diseases, including mental health, are the leading cause of death globally.2 Infectious diseases continue to pose a danger and the increased movement of people around the globe raises the risk of a global pandemic.3 Furthermore, complex intergenerational issues such as antimicrobial resistance and climate change threaten all health progress to date.3 Health is a global asset and contributes to the economy, productivity, and happiness of all countries. There is growing inequality in health outcomes between and within countries—for example, a woman born in Singapore lives on average over 30 years longer than a woman born in the Central African Republic.2 Across the UK, there are significant and widening inequalities in a range of health outcomes, including healthy life expectancy, infant mortality, and obesity.5 These health inequalities are not and should never be acceptable. Infectious diseases are never constrained by international borders, as shown in 2018 when the first cases of monkeypox outside of Africa since 2003 were diagnosed in the UK.7 The UK's collaboration with the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control helped to contain and manage the situation and minimise the public health impact.1,8 Sustainability means ensuring the health needs of the current generation are met without compromising those of future generations and involves factors such as finance, workforce, and the environment.