Judith Richter argues that the public–private partnerships per se are not necessarily positively innovative, but that many of them carry large risks that are neither highlighted nor addressed due to the positive connotation of the term. The main novelty of public–private ‘partnerships’ is not so much the type of interactions but the framework of thought underlying this policy paradigm. She suggests that there are better and safer alternatives to the uncritical spread of the partnership-with-business paradigm. She asks that these are urgently considered if we are serious about the core mandate in the international health arena: the protection, respect, facilitation and fulfilment of people's fundamental right to the highest attainable standard of health.