Newsletter Edition #370 [The Files In-Depth]
Readers,
Given the assault on the health and the rights of women, girls and vulnerable groups in recent years, it is tempting to give in to the gloom. But hopeful stories exist in global health policymaking despite the challenges.
In this edition, we bring you a thoughtful analysis of the feminist underpinnings in the Global Health Strategy laid out by Spain. This piece has been reported and written by my colleague Merlin Ince.
The author argues that "the global health community now sits with a body of evidence that shows what feminist governance can deliver. Spain has shown what is possible. What happens next is the defining test of what the multilateral health system was built to protect."
Ince is a sociologist from South Africa, based in Spain. His interests include global health policy and inequality, the role of language and narrative in shaping policy and public understanding, among others. He is a part of our annual fellowship program this year.
Thank you for reading and sharing your feedback with us.
Though we look at global health through the Geneva lens, we are keen to bring you learnings and narratives from different parts of the world. In our archives, you will find global health perspectives from Indonesia and Japan, among others. Links below in this edition.
Geneva Health Files offers value to our readers who are experts in global health. Tracking global health policy-making in Geneva is tough and expensive, without institutional support. For six years, we have provided you with the information and tools that directly contribute to your work in the field. We rely on our readers who value news they can use.
By becoming a paying subscriber you make our work possible. Our subscribers contribute towards greater accountability in global health.
Please note that we will have fewer editions in the coming weeks. We use this time every year to go back to the drawing board to fine-tune strategy, technology and everything that keeps this operations going.
Best,
Priti
Priti Patnaik, Founder & Publisher, Geneva Health Files
Feel free to write to us: genevahealthfiles@gmail.com ; Find us on BlueSky, Instagram and Linkedin.
I. GHF ANALYSIS
The Achievement and Reckoning of Spain’s Feminist Health Agenda
By Merlin Ince
Ince is a 2026 Geneva Health Files Fellow whose work examines power, governance and equity in global health. He holds a PhD in sociology and currently works as a freelance writer. E-Mail: merlin@altumnarrative.com
Pedro Sánchez has clearly articulated the politics of his government. It is feminist. His opponents call it an existential threat, claiming it erodes the foundations of society. What Spain is building tells a different story.
The Sánchez-led coalition government has constructed a legislative architecture among the most ambitious in Europe. Paid menstrual leave. Universal healthcare extended to every undocumented migrant. Abortion rights guaranteed in public hospitals, and the right of girls as young as 16 to access abortion without parental consent. An investment of €100 million annually in mental health, backed by a national strategy that places health professionals in schools. A constitutional amendment to Article 49 to remove medical-model language about disability, replacing it with a rights-based framework in which people with disabilities make their own decisions.
Each measure is an expression of a governing philosophy that Spain has made explicit: its Global Health Strategy 2025-2030 is feminist, calling for the transformation of systems that entrench inequality. This is official policy text, carrying the full weight of the Spanish state.
How, then, was this moment created?
