Press Release: Friday 7 November 2025
Minister for Health meets with G20 partners in South Africa
The Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD, has this week represented Ireland for the first time at the G20 Health Ministers meeting in Polokwane, South Africa.
Discussions centred around the importance of international cooperation and collaboration in ensuring the provision of equitable healthcare globally, with a focus on key issues such as health workforce training and development, antimicrobial resistance and women’s health.
The Minister highlighted the critical importance of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to global health and its vital role in directing and coordinating international health work, including emergency preparedness, prevention and response.
Bilateral meetings took place with ministers from Italy, Canada, Germany, Singapore, South Africa, and the UK, as well as meetings with representatives from other G20 member states.
Among the issues highlighted by Minister Carroll MacNeill were the importance of internationally mobile healthcare professionals, considering Ireland’s reliance on a net inward flow of qualified professionals.
Minister Carroll MacNeill said:
“At the G20 it was estimated the world will need 11.1 million more healthcare workers by 2030 to meet the needs of a growing and ageing population. Ireland has historically been a country that has sent medical professionals, especially nurses, abroad. We are now dependent on an international workforce migrating to Ireland to help us meet the needs of the people of Ireland.
“We are the lucky beneficiaries of nurses, doctors, and healthcare professionals, travelling to Ireland from the Philippines, India, South Africa, Indonesia and Nigeria – among others. And while we are so appreciative of their work here, I am also mindful that this comes at a cost to the health workforce of the global south.
“As a country that has gone from being a net donor, as it were, to a net recipient of healthcare professionals, we are uniquely placed to recognise the impact of the global health workforce challenge. At the World Health Assembly (WHA) in June we co-led a side event with the Philippines on ‘Accelerating Action on the Global Health and Care Workforce’ and at the G20 in South Africa I reiterated that commitment and focus by Ireland to ensuring we are looking at the needs of the global workforce collaboratively.
“I am committed the ongoing growth and development of a sustainable healthcare workforce, both on a national and international basis.”
The Minister also discussed Ireland’s progress in developing women’s health services in recent years, including the expansion of screening services, provision of free period products and Hormone Replacement Therapy for women experiencing menopause.
Other topics discussed included barriers to medicine manufacturing and innovation in medicines, and the facilitating role played by fora such as the G20 in enabling engagement, sharing of best practice and exchange of ideas.
Minister Carroll MacNeill said:
“The G20 summit has provided Ireland with an opportunity to engage with health leaders and to consider how we move forward in reducing health inequalities and developing a person-centred health service that delivers quality and timely care to everyone.
“Ireland is committed to the WHO and to the multilateral system broadly. We cannot improve our population’s health by operating alone. It is only by strengthening our connections with our global counterparts we can build on success, learn from experience and address inequalities by building a stronger, more resilient health service.”