CHMM 2025: Time to act on cross-sector partnerships for health
Our CEO reflects on this year’s Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting
by Victoria Rutter, Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Commonwealth Health Professions and Partners Alliance
This month’s opening of the 37th Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting (CHMM) in Geneva was a powerful reminder of both the shared challenges we face and the collective strength we hold.
In her first CHMM as Secretary-General, Her Excellency Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, set a compelling tone: “Health is not a cost – it is an investment.” She urged member states to take bold, collective action to strengthen primary health care, invest in health systems, close the digital divide, and – crucially – embed equity and justice at the heart of all policy and practice.
This year’s CHMM Chair was Hon. Selibe Mochoboroane, Minister of Health of Lesotho, who reinforced this by highlighting that out-of-pocket health spending in Lesotho has risen from approximately 6% to 15% – a clear signal of pressure on households and the need for more sustainable, strategic financing models.
Their messages – highlighting the need for investment in human potential, in economic stability, and in our shared future – resonated deeply with civil society. We live it every day: in communities where fragile systems still leave too many behind, dedicated health and care professionals, community health workers, civil society leaders, and volunteers step in to fill the gaps.
In this spirit, it was a great honour to attend CHMM as Chair of the Commonwealth Health Professions and Partners Alliance (CHPA), a diverse alliance of Commonwealth-accredited health and wellbeing practitioner associations working together to amplify the voice of civil society on issues relating to health and wellbeing.
Recommendations from the 2025 Commonwealth Civil Society Policy Forum
Each year, the CHPA hosts the Commonwealth Civil Society Policy Forum (CCSPF), drawing up recommendations on behalf of the Commonwealth’s doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other health and social workers. These recommendations are then directly presented to health ministers at CHMM.
The 2025 CCSPF, ‘Fit for Our Commonwealth: Towards a Resilient and Sufficient Health and Care Workforce’, called attention to the sustainable funding of the health and care workforce, who are at the heart of all health and social service delivery.
Recommendation 1: Commonwealth governments commit to long-term, stable investment in the entire health and care workforce, recognising health not just as a public good, but as a driver of economic prosperity and social stability.
Recommendation 2: Commonwealth governments undertake national, forward-looking workforce planning rooted in country-level health data, including both the current workforce and young people, who will shape the future of care delivery.
Recommendation 3: Commonwealth governments prioritise decent work, supportive environments, and career progression to retain skilled health professionals in-country, especially in light of the migration challenges facing many Commonwealth members.
Recommendation 4: Commonwealth governments coordinate action across the Commonwealth to assess and respond to the devastating impact of global aid cuts, ensuring vital services are protected and frontline workforce stability is maintained.
We were proud to see these recommendations reflected in the CHMM 2025 Ministerial Statement, including:
- A clear recognition that health spending is an investment.
- A commitment to conduct national workforce planning and mapping exercises, with action to address health worker migration.
- Explicit references to the CCSPF recommendations, and a call to work in partnerships across countries, sectors and with Accredited Organisations like members of the CHPA.
- A shared acknowledgement of the impact of global health aid cuts, and pledges to strengthen domestic financing and international resource mobilisation.
Other reflections from CHMM
Why cross-sector and cross-border partnerships matter
Lesotho’s Chairmanship has already signalled a bold intent: transitioning toward more sustainable health financing. But there was widespread recognition that this is not something any single actor – or even any single government – can do alone.
We need cross-sector partnerships, where ministries of health work hand-in-hand with the education, finance and technology sectors and civil society, and take on the views of young people, also. We also need cross-border learning, where lessons from lower- and middle-income countries inspire larger economies, and vice versa. To achieve this, we need inclusive leadership, where civil society is not a side note, but a strategic partner in design, delivery, and accountability.
Equity is justice, not just access
Equity was a defining theme of the day. The Secretary-General rightly declared: “It’s not just about access – it’s about justice.” For civil society, this framing matters: we see how geography, income, gender and digital divides each shape health outcomes. And unless we dismantle the structural inequities that determine those outcomes, we cannot hope to build the inclusive, shock-resistant health systems the Commonwealth envisions.
A moment for the Commonwealth to lead
The Commonwealth is a unique platform to lead the charge for change, owing to its membership’s shared values of diversity and practical cooperation. This moment demands that we harness the full power of that platform, not just to agree on policy, but to commit to action. That means:
- Investing in the health workforce at all levels – from specialists to community health workers.
- Building digital health capacity and ensuring no one is left behind in the digital revolution.
- Unlocking new models of sustainable financing, including innovation funds and public-private mechanisms.
- Elevating civil society voices to co-create health solutions grounded in lived realities.
CPA and other civil society organisations are ready to support the delivery of these changes.
Through initiatives like Commonwealth Partnerships for Antimicrobial Stewardship, we’ve already demonstrated how cost-effective, high-impact partnership models can be led through health worker collaboration and community engagement.
But we need support to scale these models. The leadership of the new Commonwealth Secretary-General and CHMM Chair will be critical, but we also need government investment that recognises health systems not just as service providers, but as engines of justice and resilience, and we welcome the collaborative tone set by the new Secretary-General and incoming CHMM Chair. Their leadership will be critical in ensuring the Commonwealth continues to be a bold, united voice for health equity and sustainability.
So let’s make this CHMM count. Let’s rise to this moment of uncertainty with unity and action. Let’s show that when the Commonwealth acts together, we do more than survive: we thrive.
Victoria Rutter
CEO, Commonwealth Pharmacists Association
Chair, Commonwealth Health Professions and Partners Alliance
About the author
As CEO of the Commonwealth Pharmacists Association (CPA) since 2016, Victoria has transformed the charity’s mission: to empower pharmacists as leaders in improving health and well-being across the Commonwealth. Under her leadership, the CPA has expanded its global reach, pioneered impactful initiatives like the award-winning Commonwealth Partnerships for Antimicrobial Stewardship, and strengthened the profession’s role in medicines management.
With a visionary approach and a global portfolio, she continues to champion equitable access to quality healthcare through the lens of the pharmacy profession.