Global health’ is coming of age, at least as measured by the increasing number of academic centres, especially in North America, which use this title to describe their interests. Most global health centres are in high-income countries although several have strong links with low- and middleincome countries. A task force is establishing a mechanism to coordinate European Academic Global Health initiatives through ASPER. Two recent papers raise important issues about the meaning and scope of global health and highlight, yet again, the need for a common definition of global health which is short, sharp and widely accepted, including by the public. (Published: 6 April 2010) Citation: Global Health Action 2010, 3: 5142 - DOI: 10.3402/gha.v3i0.5142