Human Rights Global Health And Neoliberal Policies

An in-depth review of the challenges of neoliberal models and policies for realizing the right to health.

Written by a respected authority on human rights and public health, this book delivers an in-depth review of the challenges of neoliberal models and policies for realizing the right to health. The author expertly explores the integration of social determinants into the right to health along with the methodologies and findings of social medicine and epidemiology. The author goes on to challenge the way that health care is currently provided and makes the case that achieving universal health coverage will require fundamental health systems reforms.

Neoliberalism has been the defining paradigm in global health since the latter part of the twentieth century. What started as an untested and unproven theory that the creation of unfettered markets would give rise to political democracy led to policies that promoted the belief that private markets were the optimal agents for the distribution of social goods, including health care. A vivid illustration of the infiltration of neoliberal ideology into the design and implementation of development programs, this case study, set in post-Soviet TajikistanÕs remote eastern province of Badakhshan, draws on extensive ethnographic and historical material to examine a Òrevolving drug fundÓ programÑused by numerous nongovernmental organizations globally to address shortages of high-quality pharmaceuticals in poor communities.ÊProvocative, rigorous, and accessible, Blind Spot offers a cautionary tale about the forces driving decision making in health and development policy today, illustrating how the privatization of health care can have catastrophic outcomes for some of the worldÕs most vulnerable populations.

In the early twenty-first century, key public health issues and challenges have taken centre stage on the global scene, and health has been placed at the heart of our collective aspirations for human development and well-being. But significant debate exists not only about the causes, but also about the possible solutions for nearly all of the most important global health challenges. Competing visions of the values and perspectives that should underlie global health policies have emerged, ranging from an emphasis on cost eff ectiveness and resource constraints on one extreme, to new calls for health and human rights, and renewed calls for health and social justice on the other. The role of different intergovernmental agencies, bilateral or unilateral donors, public or private institutions and initiatives, has increasingly been called into question, whilst the spread of neoliberal policies and programmes, and existing international trade regimes and intellectual property rights, are deeply implicated in relation to global health responses. This volume critically evaluates how the global health industry has evolved and how the interests of diverse political and economic stakeholders are shaping the context of a rapidly changing institutional landscape. Bringing together leading authors from across the world, the Handbook’s eight sections explore: • Critical perspectives on global health • Globalisation, neoliberalism, and health systems • The changing shape of global health governance • Development assistance and the politics of global health • Scale-up, scale-down, and the sustainability of global health programmes • Intellectual property rights, trade relations, and global health • Humanitarian emergencies and global health politics • Human rights, social justice, and global health The Routledge Handbook on the Politics of Global Health addresses both the emerging issues and conceptualisations of the political strategies, policy-making processes, and global governance of global health, along with expanding upon and highlighting the critical priorities in this rapidly evolving field. It provides an authoritative overview for students, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers working in or concerned with the politics of public health around the globe.

Interrogates the development of rights based approaches to health. This title integrates discussions of the right to health at a theoretical and practical level, and engages with the systems of global health governance.

This book uncovers the ways in which human rights influence global efforts to promote the health of the most vulnerable in a globalizing world. It 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. -- Provided by publisher.

Medical research and global awareness of health inequalities continue to grow apace. Why then is global health inequality widening, with benefits disproportionally affecting the richest third? How can obstacles to more equitable healthcare be overcome? This passionately-argued book presents answers that will be essential reading for everyone interested in global health, public health, public policy and economics. Policy makers in global communities and government, political activists and all those with an interest in equality in healthcare will find stimulating, well-supported analyses of the interaction between neoliberal policies, geopolitical issues and health. Meanwhile professionals in international healthcare organisations, care agencies, and international charities will find challenging and refreshing socio-political solutions to those offered by the current neoliberal paradigm.

This multidisciplinary book examines the potential of economic and social rights to contest adverse impacts of neoliberalism on human wellbeing.