Globalization And Health

Leading health scholars reveal the impact of globalization on human health, as it is mediated through environmental change. Through case studies of cultures around the world, they examine the bio-cultural intersection of health and the environment and the impact of rapid change, technological development and the expansion of the global economy. This book will be valuable to professionals in international health, medical anthropology, geography and sociology, environmental studies, and globalization studies.

Contemporary globalization has had tremendous impact on health equity across the globe. However, no volume has systematically analyzed the relationship between globalization and global trends in health outcomes. This book consolidates and updates the findings of a global research project undertaken by the Globalisation Knowledge Network (GKN) of the World Health Organization’s Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Chapters examine such questions as: How has trade liberalisation affected the social determinants of health? How has globalization affected food security, nutrition and equitable access to water and sanitation? How well do present global governance structures take account of the health equity effects associated with the social determinants of health? This landmark volume will be a necessary addition for researchers and scholars studying the field of globalization, health and social policy, and public health across the social sciences.

Globalization is breaking down economic, political, cultural, demographic, and social barriers across the world at an astonishing pace. The topic of globalization can arouse passionate debate in many circles including academic journals, the popular media, and even on the streets. This new world order is marked by new actors, new rules of governance, new forms of communication, and the global movement of populations. Health is an exquisitely sensitive mirror of social conditions, and the authors of this book argue that the assessment of health is an important criterion for evaluating and monitoring the progress of globalization. This book provides an analysis of the most serious global threats to health, the tools that can be used to evaluate them, and the international agencies established to respond to them. Medical threats such as infectious diseases, obesity, tobacco use, and global climate change are discussed, but the authors also expand their scope to include socio-political health impacts such as economic inequality. The complex role of organizations such as the World Health Organization, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank is also analyzed, as is the increasing interconnectedness of health and non-health actors. Is this blurring of boundaries really beneficial to the public's health, or have these actors abandoned health issues for power politics? By drawing together an international group of health experts,Globalization and Health provides a comprehensive account of the successes and failures, as well as the challenges and opportunities of globalization for public health.

Exploring the links between health and globalization, this title considers important issues such as the global spread of pandemics (such as swine flu and bird flu), effects of migration, and health care systems across the world.

Health and disease are intimately connected with the movement of people, goods, and ideas that embody globalization. Examining the various dimensions of the intersections between globalization and health, this book calls attention to the challenges these relationships present and the opportunities for cross-border collaboration and solidarity.

Part of the Understanding Public Health series, this book offers students and practitioners an accessible exploration of global health. Global health is a relatively new but rapidly expanding field as public health practitioners recognize the important challenges that global changes are posing for human health. Health issues are increasingly crossing national boundaries, and this book explores the actors that shape global health, including private companies, foundations, civil society and multilateral organizations, and explores some of the key issues in global health. Illuminating the changes happening in health worldwide, the book includes practical activities and applications which help to show the impact of global issues at an everyday level. The issues covered include: Social change linked to globalization Governance of global health Pharmaceuticals and tobacco Emerging infectious diseases Climate change Economy and trade Health security Globalisation and Health 2nd edition is an ideal resource for students of public health and health policy, public health practitioners and policy makers. Contributors:Joan Busfield,Nick Drager,Andy Guise,Johanna Hanefeld,Benjamin Hawkins,Kelley Lee,Marco Liverani,Tony McMichael,Neil Pearce,Richard Smith,Neil Spicer,Carolyn Stephens,Preslava Stoeva andHelen Walls. Understanding Public Health is an innovative series published by Open University Pressin collaboration with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, where it is used as a key learning resource for postgraduate programmes. It provides self - directed learning covering the major issues in public health affecting low, middle and high income countries. Series Editors: Rosalind Plowman and Nicki Thorogood. "This is a vital book which addresses the public health implications of accelerating globalisation. It shows with forensic clarity the dire impact neoliberal economics and burgeoning corporate power is having on individual, collective and planetary health. At the same time it holds out the hope that civil society can respond to this challenge and develop governance systems which ensure that the currently predominant free-market logic is reversed and people are once more put firmly before profits. Study it; learn from it; make a difference." Gerard Hastings, University of Stirling, UK, and the Open University "This book provides a clear introduction to how globalization is shaping our health and the determinants of health. The authors not only introduce us to the growing field of global health, but also provide some concrete evidence of driving factors, the key players and the impact on our daily lives. It should be a reference book for public health students, public health practitioners, as well as for policy makers. After I read this book I really realized that I live in a global village with all the consequences. Congratulations, it is a really great book." Asnawi Abdullah, Faculty of Public Health, University Muhammadiyah Aceh, Indonesia

Globalization is a form of social change, reshaping the socio-spatial milieu in which humans strive, and in which health and disease are managed and controlled. And yet the effects of globalization are distributed unevenly, with opportunities open for some but not for all. Globalization, Health and the Global South is an important textbook for any student of this fascinating area. Examining the dynamics of globalization through the lens of the Global South, it highlights risks and vulnerabilities that affect different regions and contexts, exacerbating inequalities despite the continuing speed of global processes. The books takes a critical approach to the topic, offering readers a deep understanding of health discourses and discusses a range of key topics, including migrant health, the role of politics and diplomacy and the Coronavirus pandemic. Including further reading and end of chapter discussion questions, this essential textbook will be important reading for students across the health and social sciences.

The Globalization of Health Care is the first book to offer a comprehensive legal and ethical analysis of the most interesting and broadest reaching development in health care of the last twenty years: its globalization. It ties together the manifestation of this globalization in four related subject areas - medical tourism, medical migration (the physician "brain drain"), telemedicine, and pharmaceutical research and development, and integrates them in a philosophical discussion of issues of justice and equity relating to the globalization of health care. The time for such an examination is right. Medical tourism and telemedicine are growing multi-billion-dollar industries affecting large numbers of patients. The U.S. heavily depends on foreign-trained doctors to staff its health care system, and nearly forty percent of clinical trials are now run in the developing world, with indications of as much of a 10-fold increase in the past 20 years. NGOs across the world are agitating for increased access to necessary pharmaceuticals in the developing world, claiming that better access to medicine would save millions from early death at a relatively low cost. Coming on the heels of the most expansive reform to U.S. health care in fifty years, this book plots the ways in which this globalization will develop as the reform is implemented.

Institutions matter for the advancement of human rights in global health. Given the dramatic development of human rights under international law and the parallel proliferation of global institutions for public health, there arises an imperative to understand the implementation of human rights through global health governance. This volume examines the evolving relationship between human rights, global governance, and public health, studying an expansive set of health challenges through a multi-sectoral array of global organizations. To analyze the structural determinants of rights-based governance, the organizations in this volume include those international bureaucracies that implement human rights in ways that influence public health in a globalizing world. This volume brings together leading health and human rights scholars and practitioners from academia, non-governmental organizations, and the United Nations system. They explore the foundations of human rights as a normative framework for global health governance, the mandate of the World Health Organization to pursue a human rights-based approach to health, the role of inter-governmental organizations across a range of health-related human rights, the influence of rights-based economic governance on public health, and the focus on global health among institutions of human rights governance. Contributing chapters each map the distinct human rights efforts within a specific institution of global governance for health. Through the comparative institutional analysis in this volume, the contributing authors examine institutional dynamics to operationalize human rights in organizational policies, programs, and practices and assess institutional factors that facilitate or inhibit human rights mainstreaming for global health advancement.

This book discusses globalization and its impact on human health. The population of the world grew from 1 billion in 1800 to 7 billion in 2012, and over the past 50 years the mean temperature has risen faster than ever before. Both factors continue to rise, as well as health inequalities. Our environment is changing rapidly, with tremendous consequences for our health. These changes produce complex and constantly varying interactions between the biosphere, economy, climate and human health, forcing us to approach future global health trends from a new perspective. Preventive actions to improve health, especially in low-income countries, are essential if our future is going to be a sustainable one. After a period of undeniable improvement in the health of the world’s population, this improvement is likely to slow down and we will experience– at least locally – crises of the same magnitude as have been observed in financial markets since 2009. There is instability in health systems, which will worsen if preventive and buffering mechanisms do not take on a central role. We cannot exclude the possibility that the allied forces of poverty, social inequalities, climate change, industrial food and lack of governance will lead to a deterioration in the health of large sectors of the population. In low-income countries, while many of the traditional causes of death (infectious diseases) are still highly prevalent, other threats typical of affluent societies (obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases) are increasing. Africa is not only affected by malaria, TB and HIV, but also by skyrocketing rates of cancer. The book argues that the current situation requires effective and coordinated multinational interventions guided by the principle of health as a common good. An entirely competition-driven economy cannot – by its very nature – address global challenges that require full international cooperation. A communal global leadership is called for. Paolo Vineis is Chair of Environmental Epidemiology at Imperial College. His current research activities focus on examining biomarkers of disease risk as well as studying the effects of climate change on non-communicable diseases. “From morality to molecules, environment to equity, climate change to cancer, and politics to pathology, this is a wonderful tour of global health – consistently presented in a clear, readable format. Really, an important contribution.” Professor Sir Michael Marmot Director, Institute of Health Equity University College London Author of “The Health Gap” “This book is a salutary and soundly argued reminder that the ‘common good’ is not simply what remains after individuals and groups have appropriated the majority of societal resources: it is in fact the foundation on which any society rests and without which it collapses.” Rodolfo Saracci, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France