G20 Statement sets out actions to protect public health by fighting inequalities. Experts say the inequality-pandemic cycle can be broken.

POLOKWANE, SOUTH AFRICA, 7 November 2025 - The Ministerial Statement issued from the G20 Ministerial in Polokwane has set out concrete actions to protect public health by fighting inequalities. The statement details key global and national steps to address the inequality-drivers of pandemics including AIDS and to help end TB, to advance access to medicines and to strengthen global health security.

South Africa's leadership of the G20 has been praised by experts including Nobel Prize Winning Economist Joseph E. Stiglitz, world-leading epidemiologist Sir Michael Marmot, and Executive Chairperson of the One Economy Foundation and former First Lady of Namibia Monica Geingos, the three Co-Chairs of the Global Council on Inequality, AIDS, and Pandemics established by UNAIDS.

The statement reflects important alignment with the Global Council's landmark new report, Breaking the inequality-pandemic cycle: building true health security in a global age,which revealed a vicious cycle: how inequality is making pandemics more likely, more deadly and more costly; and how pandemics are increasing inequalities. The Global Council held the international launch of the report on Monday this week in Johannesburg and then presented the report to President Cyril Ramaphosa in Cape Town on Tuesday, before heading to Polokwane to address health ministers on Thursday and Friday.

The statement sets out key actions to be taken that were recommended by the Global Council's report including through:

• Promoting affordable, rapid access to pandemic medicines like long-acting HIV drugs
• Addressing the ways high levels of debt are making the world vulnerable 
• Tackling the social determinants of health 

UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, who convened the Global Council on Inequality, AIDS, and Pandemics, paid tribute to South Africa for its leadership in advancing access to medicines, on debt and financing, and for its drive for universal health coverage through national health insurance. "President Ramaphosa is lighting the way to a world that is both fairer and safer. Inequality is bad for public health. International action to address inequality will benefit everyone," she remarked.

Sir Michael Marmot said: "South Africa is right to insist that the inequality-pandemic cycle can be broken, and is right to highlight that failing to act would be dangerous and unaffordable. The world needs to move urgently from the dangerous failure of austerity to the proven effectiveness of investments in health and in the social determinants of health."

Joseph E. Stiglitz speaking at the Ministerial congratulated South Africa for modelling leadership in health through its national health insurance programme. He urged countries in the Global North to lift the barriers blocking access to pandemic-ending medical technology for millions of people in the Global South. "Viruses don't know about passports and visas," he noted. "We need everyone to be safe in order to protect all world population from future and worse pandemics. "

Monica Geingos stated: "We have leadership from South Africa as chair of the G20, and from other countries, and we have leadership from civil society across the world. We have the evidence of what needs to be done, set out in the Breaking the Inequality-Pandemic Cycle report. And we have shown that the actions needed to break this cycle are in the interests of every country, that breaking the inequality-pandemic cycle is not only the right thing to do but is the smart thing to do."

/ENDS

Notes for editors

The G20 Ministerial Statement will be posted by G20 chair South Africa soon here: https://g20.org/track/health/

The Global Council on Inequality, AIDS, and Pandemics report Breaking the inequality-pandemic cycle: building true health security in a global age, is available here: https://www.inequalitycouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Report-2025_Global-Council-report_En.pdf