From Expertise to Influence:
UK's Soft Power in Global Health
The UK has long been a dynamic force shaping the future of healthcare worldwide. From pioneering the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to spearheading initiatives through organisations like Gavi and the Global Fund, the UK's impact on global health is profound and far-reaching. The UK Government stands at the centre of a dynamic, world-class life sciences sector in the UK and strong multilateral organisations, leading international peers to deliver rapid and large-scale improvements to global health. With access to high quality scientific and health expertise, the UK is helping to tackle some of the greatest global health threats of our time.
The UK’s leadership in global health has important implications for foreign policy. In particular, the strategic use of the UK’s distinctive institutional strengths can serve as a cornerstone of its soft power. Soft power – the ability to sway others through attraction rather than coercion – is increasingly vital in an interconnected world where alliances shift and global challenges loom large.
Foreword
In November 2021, I announced to Parliament that a concerning new variant of Covid-19 had been detected overseas. The sequence B.1.1.529, better known now as Omicron, was probably already on our shores and would very likely go on to infect millions of people.
It was clear we faced a race between the vaccine and the virus. Within weeks, the total number of boosters delivered reached 35 million. On a single day in December, over 1 million Covid-19 jabs were administered. Our pharmaceutical defences held firm – a credit to our strong position as a centre of scientific excellence.
British scientific breakthroughs like the vaccine are no accident. They are the result of our exceptional academic institutions, powerful industries, and government agencies. The Government was right to set this out as a key feature of the Integrated Review.
The UK remains at the forefront of some of the most important advances being made in modern science. This position is crucial to our strength both domestically and overseas today, and with the world we face tomorrow, it will become even more important.
Increased risk of pandemics, the emergence of new technology and changing climate could all be potentially catastrophic. Now more than ever, UK leadership on science and technology is needed.
There is no shortage of resolve in meeting this objective, but often a lack of clarity on the strategy to achieve it. This paper engages in an important discussion about our current success, as well as securing a more resilient future.
As I recognised during my time as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the government has a critical role in building and projecting soft power in science and technology sectors. We have world-leading scientific institutions at home, and strong diplomatic networks abroad to draw upon.
We should be proud of the role we have carried out to date, but there is so much more to be done. The UK can and must play a central role in shaping the future of global health policy.
In such a consequential policy area, nothing less will suffice.
Rt Hon Sir Sajid Javid MP
Recommendations
Provide longer-term and predictable funding to the life sciences sector.
Enhance cross-governmental cohesion on the UK’s science and tech ambitions, and how these will help to deliver UK aid.
Provide better access to the UK’s science, tech and health expertise using the Government’s convening power.
Honour commitments to the international community.
Strengthen international partnerships by expanding the list of global universities available to the high talent visa track.