International cooperation on health, which in the past was coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the lead authority on global health, has undergone major changes since the 1990s. Health, as a cross-cutting issue, has become a crucible in which many different challenges facing global governance are concentrated. Not only is this policy field attracting more attention and funding; a broader set of actors has also entered the stage. In this issue of our publication series Global Governance Spotlight the author, Dr Cornelia Ulbert, executive director of the Institute for Development and Peace (INEF), analyses the different options for improving global governance for health and urges for a reform of the World Health Organisation (WHO).