Global inequities in human health are excessive, unfair, and are a significant barrier to development. This can be illustrated by the fact that a newborn child in Sierra Leone can expect to live about 29 healthy life years, while in Japan he or she can look forward to about 75 healthy life years. With the formation of a School of Global Health at the University of Copenhagen we propose to initiate new, and improve existing, research and teaching programmes related to health problems faced by underprivileged people, with the ultimate goal of achieving major improvements in health within poor societies.