The Panel (2014 2021) advanced debate on the political determinants of health inequities and the transnational norms, policies and practices that arise from political interaction across all sectors that affect health.
In February 2014, The Lancet-University of Oslo Commission on Global Governance for Health published its report called The Political Origins of Health Inequity: Prospects for Change. On the Commission's recommendation, the University of Oslo established an Independent Panel to follow up on the report.
The authors of the Commission Report concluded that people’s health are greatly affected by both public and private transnational activities. They advocated therefore for a broader approach to global health by promoting the concept of global governance for health (and not solely of health) to include issues such as trade, extractive industries, and the rise of new actors in global governance.
The Independent Panel on Global Governance for Health undertook several research projects under the direction of Desmond McNeill (2014-2017), in particular on the role of extractive industries in health and the role of knowledge and politics in setting and measuring the SDGs. The Panel was subsequently co-directed by Sakiko Fukuda-Parr and Katerini Storeng (2018-2021) and focused on gathering a community of researchers through a series of conferences and events exploring new aspects of the political determinants of health, such as universal health coverage and digital technologies.
The Panel was hosted by the Global Health Politics research group at the University of Oslo's Centre for Development and the Environment (SUM).