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The Global South—Economic History and Health Systems Development

  • Mihajlo Jakovljevic 1,2,3,*,   
  • Akihiko Ozaki 4,   
  • Munjae Lee 5,   
  • Tetsuya Tanimoto 6,   
  • Tiago Correia 7,8,   
  • João Paulo Teixeira 9,   
  • Ronny Westerman 10,   
  • Arcadio Cerda 11,   
  • Narimasa Kumagai 12,   
  • Chhabi Ranabhat 13,14,15,   
  • Michael Talias 16,   
  • Takashi Miyachi 17,   
  • Resham Khatri 18,   
  • Romanus Osabohien 19,20,   
  • Jay Pan 21,   
  • Pragyan Monalisa Sahoo 22,   
  • Hao Hu 23,   
  • María José Muñoz Torrecillas 24,25,   
  • Morteza Arab-Zozani 26,   
  • Yudai Kaneda 27,   
  • Javad Javan-Noughabi 28,   
  • Hui Jin 29,   
  • Himanshu Sekhar Rout 30,31,   
  • Leidy Garcia 11,   
  • Erika Yamashita 6,   
  • Charles Ezenduka 32,   
  • Ajantha Sisira Kumara 33,   
  • Eugene Kouassi 34,   
  • Saeed Shahabi 35,   
  • Wenqing Wu 36,   
  • Chiranjivi Adhikari 37,38,   
  • Makoto Kosaka 39,   
  • Merhawi Gebremedhin Tekle 40,   
  • Sulaiman Mouselli 41,   
  • Tran Khanh Toan 42,   
  • Salvador Cruz Rambaud 42,   
  • Obinna Ikechukwu Ekwunife 43,   
  • Tissa Wijeratne 44,   
  • Vijay Kumar Chattu 45,46,   
  • Lizheng Shi 47

Received: 20 Oct 2025 | Revised: 12 Dec 2025 | Accepted: 06 Jan 2026 | Published: 12 Jan 2026

Abstract

The low-and-middle-income-countries (LMICs) of the Global South witness rapid health system development with substantial heterogeneity of affordability of medical care. Financial sustainability challenge is hard to understand without knowledge of economic history. Centuries have witnessed Colonialization, slave trade, world wars, Cold War, Non-Aligned Movement and Colonial Liberation Movements. Painful legacy shaped contemporary economic growth, and ability to invest in healthcare. There is expanding demand for health workforce-to-population ratio and supply of essential pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Despite rapid expansion of the middle class throughout the Global South, out-of-pocket spending remains excessive, while catastrophic healthcare expenditure is widespread. Most of the newly established welfare and abundance of disposable resources for healthcare investment are centered among the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa). Despite significant health expenditure growth in PPP terms, LMICs’ insufficiently prioritize medicine in budgetary spending. Global South inability to meet ever-rising demand for medical care will remain constrained by wide socioeconomic inequalities and vulnerability of the poor.  Sustained economic growth requires strategic interventions that prioritize equitable healthcare access and financial toxicity protection. Without comprehensive reforms that account for historical legacies and resource constraints, the promise of universal health coverage in the Global South will remain elusive. 

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Jakovljevic, M.; Ozaki, A.; Lee, M.; Tanimoto, T.; Correia, T.; Teixeira, J. P.; Westerman, R.; Cerda, A.; Kumagai, N.; Ranabhat, C.; Talias, M.; Miyachi, T.; Khatri, R.; Osabohien, R.; Pan, J.; Sahoo, P. M.; Hu, H.; Torrecillas, M. J. M.; Arab-Zozani, M.; Kaneda, Y.; Javan-Noughabi, J.; Jin, H.; Rout, H. S.; Garcia, L.; Yamashita, E.; Ezenduka, C.; Kumara, A. S.; Kouassi, E.; Shahabi, S.; Wu, W.; Adhikari, C.; Kosaka, M.; Tekle, M. G.; Mouselli, S.; Toan, T. K.; Rambaud, S. C.; Ekwunife, O. I.; Wijeratne, T.; Chattu, V. K.; Shi, L. The Global South—Economic History and Health Systems Development. Global South & Sustainable Development 2026, 1 (1), 1.
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