South Africa hosted the third G20 Health Working Group (HWG) meeting virtually from 8 to 9 May 2025, as part of a series of G20 events taking place across the country this year. The third meeting follows the second in-person G20 HWG meeting held in March 2025.
The mandate of the Health Working Group (HWG) is to improve global health by addressing health challenges, building resilient health systems, and promoting equitable access to health services.
The meeting took place under the theme for the HWG during South Africa’s G20 presidency to Accelerate Health Equity, Solidarity, and Universal Coverage in support of South Africa’s overarching G20 presidency theme of Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability.
The meeting served as a platform for South Africa to continue discussions on critical global health-related issues. In this regard, the two-day virtual meeting focused on the health and care workforce, the foundation for health systems and fundamental for the achievement of universal health coverage (UHC), health security, equity, and inclusive growth.
Dr Nicholas Crisp, Acting Director-General of South Africa’s National Department of Health, led the meeting and highlighted the critical global shortage of health workers (projected 11.1 million gap by 2030, with over half in Africa), emphasising the need for collective action. This involves:
- prioritising decent work and protection for health workers (majority women), addressing pandemic-exposed risks;
- accelerating investment in health workforce education and jobs, leveraging the multiplier effect of health sector job creation;
- promoting coordinated, streamlined funding and cross-sectoral stewardship (involving health, labour, finance, education, and digital sectors); and
- harnessing digital innovation to empower, not replace, health workers.
The outcomes of this technical working group meeting will inform the discussions at the G20 Health Ministers’ Meeting and Declaration later in the year.
The fourth in-person G20 Health Working Group (HWG) meeting will be held in Johannesburg in June 2025.
