Organization:Global Council on Inequality, AIDS, and Pandemics
 Global council event at the G20 Health Ministerial, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Formation | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Type | Global expert council |
| Headquarters | Geneva, Switzerland |
| Coordinates | [ ⚑ ] : 46°12′29″N 6°08′20″E / 46.208°N 6.139°E |
Region served | Global |
Co-chairs | Joseph Stiglitz, Monica Geingos, Michael Marmot |
Key people | Winnie Byanyima, Helen Clark, María Fernanda Espinosa, Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Peter Sands, Chadchart Sittipunt, Richard Lusimbo, Javier Padilla Bernáldez, Joe Phaahla, Imraan Valodia |
Parent organization | UNAIDS |
| Website | inequalitycouncil.org |
The Global Council on Inequality, AIDS, and Pandemics is a group of prominent experts convened by UNAIDS to address the intersection of global inequality and the increasing frequency and prolonged nature of pandemics. The Global Council is co-chaired by Nobel-Prize-winning economist Professor Joseph Stiglitz, entrepreneur and former First Lady of Namibia Monica Geingos, and renowned epidemiologist Professor Sir Michael Marmot who chaired the WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health. Members of the Council include a former head of state, current and former ministers of health, and prominent academics. The Global Council has engaged with G20 Health Ministers meetings in Brazil in 2024[1] and South Africa in 2025.[2][3] Members of the Council published research on the effects of inequality on the AIDS pandemic globally[4] and specifically in cities.[5] They have also published op-eds and other pieces promoting an alternative to standard pandemic preparedness that takes inequality into account.[6]
In 2025, the Global Council released a report documenting the "Inequality-Pandemic Cycle" that described the ways that inequality makes pandemics more likely, causes pandemics to last longer and have bigger impact, and how pandemics increase inequality, fueling a cycle.[7][8] The report was delivered at the G20 Ministers of Health meeting in Polokwane, South Africa as well as an event chaired by President Cyril Ramaphosa in Cape Town November 2025.[9][10][11] The report warned that inequality is driving pandemics and called on governments to take action on financial space and debt, access to affordable vaccines and medicines, social determinants of pandemics, and community-led efforts as part of preparing for future pandemics.[12]
Membership
| Members of the Global Council[13] | |
|---|---|
| Winnie Byanyima | Executive Director of UNAIDS |
| Joseph E. Stiglitz | Nobel prize winning economist and professor at Columbia University |
| Monica Geingos | Former First Lady, Namibia |
| Michael G. Marmot | Professor of Epidemiology and Director of the Institute of Health Equity at University College London |
| Nísia Trindade | Former Minister of Health, Brazil |
| John Ataguba | Executive Director of the African Health Economics and Policy Association |
| Helen Clark[14] | Former Prime Minister of New Zealand and former Administrator of UNDP |
| María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés | Former President of the United Nations General Assembly |
| Adeeba Kamarulzaman | Pro Vice Chancellor and President of Monash University Malaysia |
| Matthew M. Kavanagh | Director & Associate Professor, Georgetown University Center for Global Health Policy & Politics |
| Ingrid T. Katz | Director of the Yale Institute for Global Health |
| Ruth Laibon Masha | CEO of the National Syndemic Diseases Control Council in Kenya |
| Richard Lusimbo | Human rights activist |
| Javier Padilla Bernáldez | Secretary of State for Health, Spain |
| Joe Phaahla | Former Minister of Health of South Africa, Current Deputy Minister of Health |
| Erika Placella | Head of Health, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation |
| Achal Prabhala | Director, AccessIBSA project |
| Peter Sands | Executive Director of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria |
| Chadchart Sittipunt | Governor of Bangkok |
| Imraan Valodia | Professor of Economics; Pro Vice-Chancellor: Climate, Sustainability and Inequality, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg |
Reception and Reaction
Minister of Health of South Africa welcomed the report and its findings, stating "When I saw the picture in front of the report, I saw South Africa. We are not necessarily the poorest country on this continent, but we are certainly the most unequal in the whole world."[15][16] At the launch of the report Sir Michael Marmot stated "The rich had a very good pandemic" which generated headlines in global health publications.[17]
However, some critics complained that worrying about inequality "takes focus away" from reforms and preparedness efforts needed for future pandemics and questioned the report's methodology.[18]
References
- ↑ "G20, Pandemics & Inequality" (in en). https://ghpp.georgetown.edu/g20-pandemics-inequality/.
- ↑ Phillips, Ben (2025-11-06). "G20 health ministers take on dangerous inequalities" (in en-ZA). https://g20.mg.co.za/g20-health-ministers-take-on-dangerous-inequalities-2025/.
- ↑ "The architecture which underpins our collective health is under immense strain" (in en). 2025-11-07. https://theelders.org/news/architecture-which-underpins-our-collective-health-under-immense-strain.
- ↑ Ataguba, John Ele-Ojo; Birungi, Charles; Cunial, Santiago; Kavanagh, Matthew (2023-09-16). "Income inequality and pandemics: insights from HIV/AIDS and COVID-19—a multicountry observational study" (in en). BMJ Global Health 8 (9). doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2023-013703. ISSN 2059-7908. PMID 37717952. PMC 10510878. https://gh.bmj.com/content/8/9/e013703.
- ↑ Katz, Ingrid T.; Thomson, Dana Renee; Ravishankar, Sindhu; Otwombe, Kennedy; Macarayan, Erlyn Rachelle; Novak, Carissa; Schulte, Alison R.; Atwood, Sidney et al. (2025-04-09). "Intersectional forces of urban inequality and the global HIV pandemic: a retrospective analysis" (in en). BMJ Global Health 10 (4). doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2023-014750. ISSN 2059-7908. PMID 40204462. PMC 11987103. https://gh.bmj.com/content/10/4/e014750.
- ↑ Stiglitz, Winnie Byanyima & Joseph E. (2024-05-29). "How to Protect the World from the Next Pandemic" (in en). https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/pandemic-accord-negotiations-must-be-revived-and-binding-commitments-added-by-winnie-byanyima-and-joseph-e-stiglitz-2024-05.
- ↑ "Breaking the inequality-pandemic cycle: building true health security in a global age - World | ReliefWeb" (in en). 2025-11-02. https://reliefweb.int/report/world/breaking-inequality-pandemic-cycle-building-true-health-security-global-age.
- ↑ Eyaaz (2025-11-07). "The fiscal anatomy of the next pandemic" (in en-ZA). https://mg.co.za/health/2025-11-07-the-fiscal-anatomy-of-the-next-pandemic/.
- ↑ Eyaaz (2025-11-10). "Ramaphosa links debt reform to global inequality fight" (in en-ZA). https://mg.co.za/politics/2025-11-10-ramaphosa-links-debt-reform-to-global-inequality-fight/.
- ↑ Sibiya, Noxolo. "Global inequality leaves the world unprepared for future pandemics, warns new report" (in en-US). https://www.news24.com/southafrica/health-news/global-inequality-leaves-the-world-unprepared-for-future-pandemics-warns-new-report-20251103-1149.
- ↑ "G20 Statement sets out actions to protect public health by fighting inequalities. Experts say the inequality-pandemic cycle can be broken. | UNAIDS" (in en). https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2025/november/20251107_G20-statement.
- ↑ O'Dowd, Adrian (2025-11-04). "Pandemics will be more extreme if inequalities aren't tackled, warn global experts" (in en). BMJ 391. doi:10.1136/bmj.r2318. ISSN 1756-1833. PMID 41188023. https://www.bmj.com/content/391/bmj.r2318.
- ↑ "Global Council on Inequality, AIDS and Pandemics" (in en). https://www.inequalitycouncil.org/.
- ↑ "The architecture which underpins our collective health is under immense strain" (in en). 2025-11-07. https://theelders.org/news/architecture-which-underpins-our-collective-health-under-immense-strain.
- ↑ Yoganathan, Venilla (2025-11-12). "Poverty, poor living conditions, drive pandemics – UNAIDS report" (in en-US). https://www.medicalbrief.co.za/poverty-poor-living-conditions-drive-pandemics-unaids-report/.
- ↑ Sibiya, Noxolo. "'Brutally different': Motsoaledi says SA has two healthcare systems for rich and poor" (in en-US). https://www.news24.com/southafrica/health-news/brutally-different-motsoaledi-says-sa-has-two-healthcare-systems-for-rich-and-poor-20251103-1271.
- ↑ Cullinan, Kerry (2025-11-03). "The Rich 'Had A Good Pandemic': How Inequality Weakens Disease Responses - Health Policy Watch" (in en-US). https://healthpolicy-watch.news/the-rich-had-a-good-pandemic-how-inequality-weakens-disease-responses/.
- ↑ Bourne, Ryan and Nathan Miller (November 14, 2025). "Does Economic Inequality Really Worsen Pandemics?". https://www.cato.org/commentary/does-economic-inequality-really-worsen-pandemics.
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