Global health. The current scenario and future perspectives

24 “discipline aimed at training, researching and acting on transnational problems, determinants and solutions to achieve the improvement of health and health equity at a global level” (Global Health Program, University of Chile, 2018). A recent systematic review on the subject (Salm et al., 2021), which included 78 articles predominantly in English, concludes that future developments in the conceptualization of Global Health should focus more on a pragmatic perspective of “who” defines Global Health, rather than on the “what” of the definition. This article also proposes theoretical categories and sub-topics that outline key aspects of Global Health to be taken into consideration: 1. Global Health is an interdisciplinary approach to improving health worldwide that is taught and researched in academic institutions. 2. Global Health is an ethically guided initiative driven by principles of justice. 3. Global Health is a mode of governance that influences through the identification of issues, policy decisions and the contribution and exchange of resources beyond borders. 4. Global Health is a vague and versatile concept with multiple meanings, historical backgrounds and an emerging future. Historical and conceptual background The statement in the introduction is not new for those who work in Global Health. Global Health is a field of study that is constantly evolving and has been addressed in academic institutions both in the Global North (Europe and North America) and the Global South (Latin America, Asia and Africa). This historical-conceptual evolution has gone through stages. Richard Smith, former editor of the British Medical Journal, provides a numerical representation of the four stages of evolution in Global Health (Smith, 2013). Initially, during the period of European colonization, it was called tropical medicine, whose main objective was to maintain the health of colonizers and/or troops in tropical countries. Later, during the Cold War period, the concept was referred to as international health, with mainly personnel from wealthy countries providing humanitarian aid to people in poor countries. The third stage represents the current main manifestation of Global Health, which involves researchers from wealthy countries leading research programs in poor countries. Finally, with an increasing presence today and projected into the future, the fourth stage consists of research activities and other interventions led by researchers from low and middle- income countries. This classification and chronology are attributed to Peter Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). Piot has identified specific differences between the last two contemporary stages. Global Health 3.0 takes place on-site and largely