Global health priorities – priorities of the wealthy?

Health has gained importance on the global agenda. It has become recognized in forums where it was once not addressed. In this article three issues are considered: global health policy actors, global health priorities and the means of addressing the identified health priorities. I argue that the arenas for global health policy-making have shifted from the public spheres towards arenas that include the transnational for-profit sector. Global health policy has become increasingly fragmented and verticalized. Infectious diseases have gained ground as global health priorities, while non-communicable diseases and the broader issues of health systems development have been neglected. Approaches to tackling the health problems are increasingly influenced by trade and industrial interests with the emphasis on technological solutions.

[1]  M. Mackintosh,et al.  Commercialization of health care: global and local dynamics and policy responses , 2005 .

[2]  G. Walt,et al.  Global public-private partnerships: Part I--A new development in health? , 2000, Bulletin of the World Health Organization.

[3]  E. Pavignani.  Making a Healthy World: Agencies, Actors and Policies in International Health. By Meri Koivusalo and Eeva Ollila. Helsinki: Stakes; London and New York: Zed Books Ltd. 1997 , 1998 .

[4]  R. Brugha,et al.  A global health fund: a leap of faith? , 2001, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[5]  J. Sachs.  Macroeconomics and health: investing in health for economic development , 2002 .

[6]  C. Varkevisser.  Health Policy: An introduction to process and power , 1996 .

[7]  G. Kell,et al.  The United Nations and Business: A Partnership Recovered , 2000 .

[8]  Deepak Nayyar.  Towards Global Governance , 2002 .

[9]  G. Kell,et al.  The United Nations and Business , 2000 .

[10]  Michael R. Reich,et al.  Public–private partnerships for public health , 2000, Nature Medicine.

[11]  K. W. Backe.  [Power and weakness]. , 1995, Krankenpflege Journal.

[12]  A. Hardon,et al.  Drugs policy in developing countries. , 1992 .

[13]  P A Singer,et al.  Grand Challenges in Global Health , 2003, Science.

[14]  Dean T. Jamison,et al.  Strengthening Health Systems , 2006 .

[15]  Corinna Hawkes,et al.  The global burden of chronic diseases. , 2004 .

[16]  D. Yach,et al.  The global burden of chronic diseases: overcoming impediments to prevention and control. , 2004, JAMA.

[17]  J. Lob-levyt,et al.  Innovative Financing of International Public Goods for Health , 2002 .

[18]  Un Millennium,et al.  Investing in development : a practical plan to achieve the Millennium Development Goals , 2005 .

[19]  R. Feachem.  Commission on Macroeconomics and Health. , 2002, Bulletin of the World Health Organization.

[20]  Guilbert Jj.  The world health report 2002 - reducing risks, promoting healthy life. , 2003 .

[21]  Seamus Grimes.  From population control to "reproductive rights": ideological influences in population policy. , 1998, Third world quarterly.

[22]  G. Walt.  Health Policy: An Introduction to Process and Power , 1994 .

[23]  A. Zammit.  Development at risk : rethinking UN-business partnerships , 2003 .

[24]  G. Yamey.  Faltering steps towards partnerships. , 2002, BMJ.

[25]  R. Brugha,et al.  New products into old Systems. The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) from a country perspective. , 2002 .

[26]  I. Kickbusch.  Influence and opportunity: reflections on the U.S. role in global public health. , 2002, Health affairs.