2026 global health outlook: Experts warn of key challenges ahead

The landscape of global health is changing rapidly driven by numerous opportunities. However, the issues also exist. The medical experts have identified various challenges responsible for shaping the global health agenda.

Global funding crisis

The most immediate challenge is a “forced remodeling" of international aid following the funding cuts. Global health faced a massive setback when the Trump administration decided to cut billions in foreign aid and dissolved USAID, known for delivering humanitarian aid.

Countries including the UK, Germany, and France followed suit and cut the major aid chunks, leading to financial shortfalls in the health sector.

Anja Langenbucher, Europe office director at the Gates Foundation warned, “Recent funding pauses for global health initiatives are creating headwinds for progress, with effects that could persist into 2026 if uncertainty continues. This comes at a moment when child mortality is edging back up for the first time this century.”

Workforce crisis and burnout

Healthcare systems are also strained due to the labor crisis, medical professional shortages, and aging population.

According to the WHO projection, the healthcare sector will face a shortfall of 11 million physicians globally. Consequently, the systems are being coerced to “deliver more with less.”

Katherine de Bienassis, health policy analyst at Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said, “We can expect workforce constraints will remain central to health policy debates in 2026.”

“Methods for ensuring health system productivity are likely to become increasingly central as systems strive to deliver more with fewer resources, while also maintaining patient outcomes,” she added.

Climate change as health crisis

Climate change is no longer an environmental issue. In fact, it is also causing various health issues stemming from vector-borne diseases and biodiversity losses.

“Science shows no sign that this [climate] crisis is slowing, while EU policy attention remains focused elsewhere,” Génon K. Jensen, director at the Health and Environment Alliance, told Euronews Health.

“People’s health should be central to this year’s climate resilience proposals, with nature-based solutions as a cornerstone of climate adaptation,” Jensen explained.

Role of double-edged AI tools

Undoubtedly, AI is uplifting the healthcare sector by automating administrative tasks, offering diagnostic opportunities, and allowing clinicians to focus more on patient care.

“Healthcare is entering a new phase, with AI creating new possibilities for how care is delivered and experienced, and helping make sense of an increasingly complex system,” a Philips spokesperson said.

In Europe, biotechnology is gaining ground due to the recently presented EU Biotech Act.

According to HIRPA, a Spanish biotech company said, “If we had to sum up, what we expect in 2026 is the year of biotechnology for Europe to contribute to strategic autonomy, to the competitiveness of the continent.”

But the increasing use of AI raises concerns over the “environmental footprint” and shortages of water and energy.

Unstable trade environment

Global tariffs and geopolitical tensions have pushed pharmaceutical companies into a competitive tug of war, thereby stifling innovation and disease prevention in 2026.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)

Superbugs remain a top-tier threat and will continue to be in 2026. Without urgent action and drug discovery, drug resistance could lead to 10 million deaths annually by 2050, threatening to return medicine to a "pre-penicillin" era.

Ffion Storer-Jones, senior policy and advocacy officer at DSW said, “We really hope that 2026 does not become another year of neglect in the global health 'panic and neglect' cycle.”