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Global governance, foreign policy and the geopolitics of health

Global governance describes intergovernmental and multi-stakeholder engagement in setting health policies and promoting accountability and transparency at a supranational level. Some of the institutions involved are health specific (e.g., the World Health Organization, UNAIDS and UNICEF), others have multiple agendas (e.g., World Bank), while others have non-health agendas that nonetheless affect health outcomes within and between countries (e.g., the World Trade Organization, International Labour Organization, International Monetary Fund, and United Nations Development Program, to name a few). Several have treaty-making authority with direct or indirect global health implications. The re-emergence of powerful global philanthropies and the rise of global public-private partnerships pose governance challenges. Government engagement in global health governance is shaped by their foreign policy preferences. How health is placed and framed within countries’ foreign policies has become of topic of global health research often described as ‘global health diplomacy.’ Geopolitics, in turn, captures diplomatic or forceful efforts to influence or exercise power at international scales (global and regional) that embody a country’s economic or political ambitions.

Papers submitted under this section will examine both global governance opportunities and risks through studies of the creation of and health impacts of governance structures and their power politics and conflicts of interest; regulatory regimes or framework conventions; voluntary corporate social responsibility initiatives; and/or progressive taxation policies or agreements. Papers will also explore governments’ health and foreign policy positions, processes of intergovernmental negotiations, coherence (or incoherence) between differing foreign policy goals, how different global health actors work to place health higher as both a domestic and foreign policy priority, and the relationship between countries’ geopolitical interests and their health foreign policy framing.  

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  1. In Latin America, total sales of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) continue to rise at an alarming rate. Consumption of added sugar is a leading cause of diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Coalition...

    Authors: Angela Carriedo, Adam D. Koon, Luis Manuel Encarnación, Kelley Lee, Richard Smith and Helen Walls
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2021 17:5
  2. During global pandemics, such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), crisis communication is indispensable in dispelling fears, uncertainty, and unifying individuals worldwide in a collective fight against he...

    Authors: Zhaohui Su, Dean McDonnell, Jun Wen, Metin Kozak, Jaffar Abbas, Sabina Šegalo, Xiaoshan Li, Junaid Ahmad, Ali Cheshmehzangi, Yuyang Cai, Ling Yang and Yu-Tao Xiang
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2021 17:4
  3. The importance of integrating the social sciences in epidemic preparedness and response has become a common feature of infectious disease policy and practice debates. However to date, this integration remains ...

    Authors: Kevin Louis Bardosh, Daniel H. de Vries, Sharon Abramowitz, Adama Thorlie, Lianne Cremers, John Kinsman and Darryl Stellmach
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:120
  4. In 2016, the South African government became the first in the African region to announce the introduction of an SSB tax based on sugar content as a public health measure to reduce obesity. This tax was introdu...

    Authors: Safura Abdool Karim, Petronell Kruger and Karen Hofman
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:116
  5. Under the International Health Regulations (2005) [IHR (2005)] Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, after action reviews (AAR) and simulation exercises (SimEx) are two critical components which measure the fun...

    Authors: Frederik Anton Copper, Landry Ndriko Mayigane, Yingxin Pei, Denis Charles, Thanh Nam Nguyen, Candice Vente, Cindy Chiu de Vázquez, Allan Bell, Hilary Kagume Njenge, Nirmal Kandel, Zheng Jie Marc Ho, Abbas Omaar, Stéphane de la Rocque and Stella Chungong
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:115
  6. The last months have left no-one in doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic is exerting enormous pressure on health systems around the world, bringing to light the sub-optimal resilience of even those classified as h...

    Authors: Charbel El Bcheraoui, Heide Weishaar, Francisco Pozo-Martin and Johanna Hanefeld
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:112
  7. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing problem worldwide in need of global coordinated action. With the endorsement of the Global Action Plan (GAP) on AMR in 2015, the 194 member states of the World Healt...

    Authors: Louise Munkholm and Olivier Rubin
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:109
  8. The deteriorating political and economic situation in Venezuela has ramifications far beyond the Latin American country’s borders as almost five million Venezuelans fled and migrated into countries in the regi...

    Authors: Claire J. Standley, Eric Chu, Emrose Kathawala, Deisy Ventura and Erin M. Sorrell
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:103
  9. Corruption is recognized by the global community as a threat to development generally and to achieving health goals, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal # 3: ensuring healthy lives and prom...

    Authors: Jillian Clare Kohler and Andrea Bowra
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:101
  10. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death globally. While upstream approaches to tackle NCD risk factors of poor quality diets and physical inactivity have been trialled in high income co...

    Authors: Tolu Oni, Felix Assah, Agnes Erzse, Louise Foley, Ishtar Govia, Karen J. Hofman, Estelle Victoria Lambert, Lisa K. Micklesfield, Maylene Shung-King, Joanne Smith, Eleanor Turner-Moss, Nigel Unwin, Pamela Wadende, James Woodcock, Jean Claude Mbanya, Shane A. Norris…
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:100
  11. In Colombia, public health policies to improve food environments, including front-of-pack nutrition labelling and marketing restrictions for unhealthy products, are currently under development. Opposition to t...

    Authors: Melissa Mialon, Diego Alejandro Gaitan Charry, Gustavo Cediel, Eric Crosbie, Fernanda Baeza Scagliusi and Eliana María Pérez Tamayo
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:97
  12. In October 2018, the Conference of the Parties of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC or Convention) adopted its first decision on novel and emerging tobacco products, including heated tobacco pr...

    Authors: Lukasz Gruszczynski and Margherita Melillo
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:81
  13. The Second International Symposium on One Health Research (ISOHR) was held in Guangzhou city, China on 23–24 November 2019. A transdisciplinary collaborative approach, One Health (OH), was the central theme of...

    Authors: Noore Alam, Cordia Chu, Qianlin Li, Allison Crook, Maxine Whittaker, Tjandra Aditama, Elena Schak, Dicky Budiman, Bonnie Barber and Jiahai Lu
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:79
  14. The UN system’s shift towards multistakeholder governance, now embedded in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), invites a broad range of actors, including the private sector, to the policymaking table. Al...

    Authors: Kathrin Lauber, Rob Ralston, Mélissa Mialon, Angela Carriedo and Anna B. Gilmore
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:76
  15. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17 focuses on North/South partnerships for sustainable development. Literature on research partnerships and capacity -building often neglects how these processes are carried ...

    Authors: Isabel Craveiro, António Carvalho and Paulo Ferrinho
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:33
  16. Following advances in industrial strategy and organizational behaviour, as well as post-development debates in international relations, Globalization and Health launched the Reverse Innovation series in 2012, ...

    Authors: Matthew Harris, Viva Dadwal and Shams B. Syed
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:26
  17. Since the declaration of the 10th Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in DRC on 1st Aug 2018, several neighboring countries have been developing and implementing preparedness efforts to prevent EVD cross-border...

    Authors: Jane Ruth Aceng, Alex R. Ario, Allan N. Muruta, Issa Makumbi, Miriam Nanyunja, Innocent Komakech, Andrew N. Bakainaga, Ambrose O. Talisuna, Collins Mwesigye, Allan M. Mpairwe, Jayne B. Tusiime, William Z. Lali, Edson Katushabe, Felix Ocom, Mugagga Kaggwa, Bodo Bongomin…
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:24
  18. In 2015, the United Nations’ (UN) Member States adopted a bold and holistic agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), integrating a vision of peace and prosperity for people and planet. Extensive wor...

    Authors: Sameera Hussain, Dena Javadi, Jean Andrey, Abdul Ghaffar and Ronald Labonté
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:15
  19. Unhealthy foods and tobacco remain the leading causes of non-communicable disease (NCDs). These are key agricultural commodities for many countries, and NCD prevention policy needs to consider how to influence...

    Authors: Raphael Lencucha, Nicole E. Pal, Adriana Appau, Anne-Marie Thow and Jeffrey Drope
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:11
  20. This study aims to evaluate the gap between countries’ self-evaluation and external evaluation regarding core capacity of infectious disease control required by International Health Regulations and the influen...

    Authors: Feng-Jen Tsai and Battsetseg Turbat
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:10
  21. Emerging and re-emerging diseases with pandemic potential continue to challenge fragile health systems in Africa, creating enormous human and economic toll. To provide evidence for the investment case for publ...

    Authors: Ambrose Otau TALISUNA, Emelda Aluoch OKIRO, Ali Ahmed YAHAYA, Mary STEPHEN, Boukare BONKOUNGOU, Emmanuel Onuche MUSA, Etienne Magloire MINKOULOU, Joseph OKEIBUNOR, Benido IMPOUMA, Haruna Mamoudou DJINGAREY, N’da Konan Michel YAO, Sakuya OKA, Zabulon YOTI and Ibrahima Socé FALL
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:9
  22. In the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam, high quantities of products containing antimicrobial are used as prophylactic and curative treatments in small-scale chicken flocks. A large number of these contain antim...

    Authors: Nguyen T. T. Dung, Bao D. Truong, Nguyen V. Cuong, Nguyen T. B. Van, Doan H. Phu, Bach T. Kiet, Chalalai Rueanghiran, Vo B. Hien, Guy Thwaites, Jonathan Rushton and Juan Carrique-Mas
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:8
  23. To respond to the global noncommunicable disease (NCD) crisis, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), a multilateral United Nations body responsible for work on food standards, is developing global guidanc...

    Authors: Anne Marie Thow, Alexandra Jones, Carmen Huckel Schneider and Ronald Labonté
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2020 16:3
  24. Sustainable management of the natural environment is essential. Continued environmental degradation will lead to worsened health outcomes in countries and across generations. The Sustainable Development Goals ...

    Authors: Toni Delany-Crowe, Dora Marinova, Matt Fisher, Michael McGreevy and Fran Baum
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2019 15:68
  25. Countries must be able to describe and monitor their populations health and well-being needs in an attempt to understand and address them. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have re-emphasized the need t...

    Authors: Alba Llop-Gironés, Lucinda Cash-Gibson, Sergio Chicumbe, Francesc Alvarez, Ivan Zahinos, Elisio Mazive and Joan Benach
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2019 15:67
  26. The WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region is endowed with deep intellectual tradition, interesting cultural diversity, and a strong societal fabric; components of a vibrant platform for promoting health and wellbei...

    Authors: Ahmed Al-Mandhari, Maha El-Adawy, Wasiq Khan and Abdul Ghaffar
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2019 15:64
  27. Sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) are a major source of sugar in the diet. Although trends in consumption vary across regions, in many countries, particularly LMICs, their consumption continues to increase. In r...

    Authors: Gary Jonas Fooks, Simon Williams, Graham Box and Gary Sacks
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2019 15:56
  28. This brief commentary argues that glocal governance introduces a fruitful new perspective to the global governance debate of AMR, and cautions against too strict a focus on establishing globally binding governanc...

    Authors: Olivier Rubin
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2019 15:54
  29. Creating ‘liveable’ cities has become a priority for various sectors, including those tasked with improving population health and reducing inequities. Two-thirds of the world’s population will live in cities b...

    Authors: Amanda Alderton, Melanie Davern, Kornsupha Nitvimol, Iain Butterworth, Carl Higgs, Elizabeth Ryan and Hannah Badland
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2019 15:51
  30. Globalization and funding imperatives drive many universities to internationalize through global health programmes. University-based global health researchers, advocates and programmes often stress the importa...

    Authors: Aaron N. Yarmoshuk, Donald C. Cole, Anastasia Nkatha Guantai, Mughwira Mwangu and Christina Zarowsky
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2019 15:37
  31. Industry sponsorship of public health research has received increasing scrutiny, and, as a result, many multinational corporations (MNCs), such as The Coca-Cola Company and Mars Inc., have committed to transpa...

    Authors: Sarah Steele, Gary Ruskin, Lejla Sarcevic, Martin McKee and David Stuckler
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2019 15:36

    The Correction to this article has been published in Globalization and Health 2019 15:61

  32. A resilient health system is inevitable in attaining the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One way of strengthening health systems is improving the coverage of public health laws for better ...

    Authors: Yuri Lee and So Yoon Kim
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2019 15:29
  33. Operations of transnational corporations (TNCs) affect population health through production methods, shaping social determinants of health, or by influencing regulation of their activities. Research on communi...

    Authors: Julia Anaf, Frances Baum, Matt Fisher and Leslie London
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2019 15:13
  34. Fragmentation across governance structures, funding, and external actor engagement in Sierra Leone continues to challenge the efficiency and coherence of health sector activities and impedes sustained health s...

    Authors: Arwen Barr, Lauryn Garrett, Robert Marten and Sowmya Kadandale
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2019 15:8
  35. Performance-based financing (PBF) in low- and middle-income settings has diffused at an unusually rapid pace. While many studies have looked at PBF implementation processes and effects, there is an empirical r...

    Authors: Lara Gautier, Manuela De Allegri and Valéry Ridde
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2019 15:6
  36. Supermarkets have unprecedented political and economic power in the food system and an inherent responsibility to demonstrate good corporate citizenship via corporate social responsibility (CSR). The aim of th...

    Authors: Claire Elizabeth Pulker, Georgina S. A. Trapp, Jane Anne Scott and Christina Mary Pollard
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2018 14:121
  37. The World Health Organization (WHO) continues to experience immense financial stress. The precarious financial situation of the WHO has given rise to extensive dialogue and debate. This dialogue has generated ...

    Authors: Srikanth K. Reddy, Sumaira Mazhar and Raphael Lencucha
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2018 14:119
  38. Paraguay has reportedly been a major transit hub for illicit tobacco products since the 1960s, initially to supply markets in Argentina and Brazil and, more recently, other regional markets and beyond. However...

    Authors: Roberto Magno Iglesias, Benoît Gomis, Natalia Carrillo Botero, Philip Shepherd and Kelley Lee
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2018 14:111
  39. Leading transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) began to expand their operations in Latin America in the 1960s. This included legally exporting their cigarettes to Paraguay during the 1960s which, in turn, were...

    Authors: Benoît Gomis, Kelley Lee, Natalia Carrillo Botero, Philip Shepherd and Roberto Magno Iglesias
    Citation: Globalization and Health 2018 14:110