Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Power and representation at the World Health Summit

Nature Human Behaviour volume 10, pages 4–6 (2026)Cite this article

Subjects

At the World Health Summit, diversity in representation is increasing — but influence remains uneven. Drawing on 11 years of speaker data from one of the most prominent global health forums, we uncover patterns in gender, geography and sector. We propose three areas for future reform to ensure global health platforms move beyond tokenism towards meaningful inclusion and accountability.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Data compiled from WHS programmes 2014–2024.

References

  1. van Daalen, K. R. et al. BMJ Glob. Health 7, 1–11 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Khorsand, P. et al. BMJ Glob. Health 7, e009231 (2022).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Moon, S. Global. Health 15, 74 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Alayande, B. T. J. Public Health Africa 14, 2810 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Franz, C., Holzscheiter, A. & Kickbusch, I. Lancet 404, 82–94 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Shiffman, J. Int. J. Health Policy Manag. 3, 297–299 (2014).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Schroeder, E., Rochford, C., Voss, M. & Gabrysch, S. Lancet 393, 1200–1201 (2019).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Downs, J. A., Reif, L.K., Hokororo, A. & Fitzgerald, D. W. Acad. Med. 89, 1103–1107 (2014).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Lütke Lanfer, H., Gelen, M. & Saint, V. A. Longitudinal Analysis of Representation in the World Health Summit Programmes, 2014–2024 (Bielefeld University; 2025).

  10. Horton, R. Lancet 383, 1195 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany

    Maria Gelen, Victoria Saint & Hanna Luetke Lanfer

Authors
  1. Maria Gelen
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Victoria Saint
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hanna Luetke Lanfer
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hanna Luetke Lanfer.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gelen, M., Saint, V. & Luetke Lanfer, H. Power and representation at the World Health Summit. Nat Hum Behav 10, 4–6 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-025-02321-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Version of record:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-025-02321-3

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing