Collective action for responsible global health data sharing and use
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21879247 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alfredo Mayor (0000-0003-3890-2897, Manhiça Health Research Centre), Busiku Hamainza (0000-0001-7204-1555, Ministry of Health), Arantxa Roca-Feltrer (PATH, Maputo, Mozambique) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | e022013 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | BMJ Global Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2059-7908 • E-ISSN: 2059-7908 |
| Publisher | BMJ (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1136/bmjgh-2025-022013 |
| PMID | 41781024 |
| OpenAlex | W7133511611 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 62 |
Sharing data and biospecimens is both a scientific imperative and an ethical duty in research and public health, yet global asymmetries in capacity and power risk perpetuating inequality rather than alleviating it. To genuinely advance global health equity, data sharing efficiency should be measured not by the volume or speed of data transfer, but by the deliberate flow of benefits, capacity and decision-making authority to structurally disadvantaged regions. This requires a complementary shift. First, advanced partners must move from directing to enabling, focusing on building local technical, analytical and governance capacities to ensure solutions are rooted where they are needed most. Second, less-resourced actors must reframe data sharing not as a risky obligation, but as an opportunity for leadership—actively shaping research agendas and harnessing the power of open science. Consequently, sharing mandates must be explicitly tied to tangible interventions and demonstrated successes in improving health outcomes, supported by sovereign, federated data systems and reformed academic incentives that valorise capacity building and equitable collaboration as core research outputs. We, therefore, urge health researchers, funders, publishers and agencies to collectively transform sharing of data and biological materials into an equity-centred process that actively rectifies historical power imbalances. By shifting emphasis from the data themselves to the people, systems and processes that translate data into action, we can ensure sharing serves as a true bridge to equity—one that actively advances global health for all
Cognitive reframing · Corporate governance · Data governance · Data sharing · Disadvantaged · Global governance · Global health · Incentive · Open data · Ethics in Clinical Research · Global Health and Surgery · Research Data Management Practices
The INDEPTH Network
World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki
Promoting an open research culture
The Lancet and Financial Times Commission on governing health futures 2030
The Care Principles for Indigenous Data Governance
The Fair Guiding Principles for scientific data management and stewardship
Transforming partnerships through transboundary research
Authorship equity in global health research
What constitutes equitable data sharing in global health research? A scoping review of the literature on low-income and middle-income country stakeholders’ perspectives
The PHA4GE Microbial Data-Sharing Accord
A framework for the promotion of ethical benefit sharing in health research
Towards equitable genomics governance in Africa
Anticipating ethical and social dimensions of the European Health Data Space
“You cannot collect data using your own resources and put It on open access”
Barriers and facilitators to health information exchange in low- and middle-income country settings
Antifragile
| Highly cited | No |
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