The government has unveiled a £12m plan aimed at improving health in the UK and around the world.
Health secretary Alan Johnson set out how ministers would work with the World Health Organisation and the EU to tackle global health challenges.
The strategy focuses on improving health security, with ministers claiming that health problems in this country are often made worse by those in the developing world.
It calls for health organisations to be made more effective and asks government departments to consider how their policies affect global health.
It also aims to use foreign and domestic policies to reduce health inequalities.
Johnson said: "Health is a global issue; it is one that transcends borders and boundaries.
"We have already received praise from the World Health Organisation for our work on pandemic preparedness, and we want to build on that success to work with other countries to address such vital issues as health inequalities and the health impacts of climate change."
He added that the government would examine "more closely" the problem of health inequalities in November.
"This strategy sets out a clear course of action for the way we will work with others - both nationally and internationally - to improve the health of the world's population, including that of the UK," he said.
Foreign Office minister Mark Malloch Brown said the strategy was "a crucial step forward in establishing the importance of improving global health to the UK's national and foreign policy interests".
And international development minister Gillian Merron said it was about "helping people around the world to protect themselves from disease and ill health - and also protecting the UK".
"Problems which affect us on our doorsteps are often made worse by suffering in developing countries," she said.
