Independent report

Chief Medical Officer annual report 2019: partnering for progress

Chief Medical Officer Professor Dame Sally Davies’ latest report considers current and future UK engagement with global health.

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Professor Dame Sally Davies emphasises that global health security is only as strong as its weakest link, and that increasing levels of non-communicable diseases globally could undermine health systems in lower- and middle-income countries. This could jeopardise poorer countries’ ability to meet the needs of their populations and effectively engage in infectious disease control.

The report consists of 21 letters from global health leaders to Dame Sally, and her responding summary, recommendations and epilogue. Dame Sally publishes these letters under 3 headings:

  • equity
  • sustainability
  • security

These are the 3 interdependent conditions she proposes must be met to secure good health for all.

Professor Dame Sally Davies’ report is independent of government and is primarily aimed at government, regulators, policy-makers and healthcare professionals.

Published 22 July 2019
Last updated 20 September 2019 + show all updates
  1. The report has been updated with the following corrections: summary, page 2, 'benefactors' corrected to 'beneficiaries'; summary, page 3, 'In 2021, NCDs, including mental health, will overtake all others as the leading causes of death worldwide, demonstrating this global shift' corrected to 'By 2021, NCDs in aggregate will have overtaken other disease categories as the leading cause of death across lower-income countries, and by 2040 will be the leading cause of years of life lost in Africa'; summary, page 11, second instance of ‘Recommendation 26’ corrected to ‘Recommendation 28’; section 3, page 18, picture title 'Partnering in Mozambique' corrected to 'Partnering in Accra, Ghana'; and picture source ‘Source Sarah Cavanagh, Senior Pharmacist, Ipswich Hospital’ corrected to ‘Dr Mariyam Mirfenderesky, Consultant Microbiologist, North Middlesex University NHS Trust, London’.

  2. First published.