Focusing on BRICS countries, this chapter examines the profound implications arising from the growing and future role of emerging powers in global health governance (GHG). At the beginning of the twenty-first century, not only did BRICS countries shift towards net donors, but also their efforts in global health agenda setting and norm development increased. Their policy and practice in conducting health diplomacy constitute an alternative to the existing GHG paradigm. However, their role in GHG remains limited and mixed, as shown in the relatively small size of development assistance for health (DAH), a selective and state-centric approach to developing and participating in global health institutions, and the lack of progress working together and translating policy rhetoric into action. It is still too early to view these efforts as a counterbalance or counterforce to industrialized countries in GHG.
The past and present of pandemic management: health diplomacy, international epidemiological surveillance, and COVID-19