The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), an institution closely aligned with the CDU, has issued a warning against questioning the importance of international development cooperation. In the preface to a study that was recently reported on by the “Tagesspiegel,” KAS Chairwoman Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and her deputy, Hermann Gröhe, emphasized that multilateralism, stable partnerships, and robust international institutions serve not merely as a national objective for Germany, but are fundamentally in Germany’s own interest.
Under the programmatic title, “The Value of Global Health,” the study elaborates on the significant benefits Germany derives from international health cooperation. This field is currently facing considerable pressure due to the dissolution of the US development agency USAID and the withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organization.
Furthermore, German involvement has reportedly diminished. While the Federal Republic invested €4.5 billion in health promotion through development cooperation in 2021, the KAS study estimates that this figure was only around €2.5 billion in 2024-a reduction of over 40 percent. The allocation of funds for global health and development cooperation in the federal budget has since been cut further.
To counteract this downward trend, the study authors from the Charité Center for Global Health outline four crucial benefits of global health for Germany. They state that German engagement saves lives, strengthens health systems, and simultaneously protects Germany from cross-border health risks.
Moreover, this commitment to global health is shown to open up new markets for the German economy. The government’s investments also assist German institutions in maintaining strong connections to international research in global health and improve diplomatic relations with countries in the Global South.
Given these findings, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Hermann Gröhe urge the federal government to continue providing adequate funding for global health. They caution that health crises, the consequences of poorly functioning health systems, and widening inequalities recognize no borders. They conclude that anyone who believes they can exempt themselves from these realities fundamentally misunderstands the nature of an interconnected world.
