Month: June 2009

The European Union is clearly becoming a central actor in global health, but its role is still emerging and changing with the possible ratification of the Lisbon Treaty and in response to the European health strategy. For this reason it is timely to examine: The global health role of the European Union, the impacts of […]

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the principal international institution for the management of international trade. It was created at the Uruguay round of trade talks in 1994, when it was agreed to transform the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) into a permanent institution. WTO is an intergovernmental institution of 149 member states, […]

Health is now one of the largest markets in the world, accounting for some 10 per cent of global GDP. Sectors that endanger health – such as tobacco, alcohol and junk food – are amongst the most influential global industries and it is increasingly recognized that health is a cause of economic growth, as well […]

A growing number of highly diverse new organizations, networks and alliances focusing on discrete and measurable areas of action have superseded the simple division of delivery mechanisms between bilateral and multilateral health agencies. An increasing number of public-private partnerships (PPPs) are engaged in reducing the disease burden in the poorest countries. There are about 80 […]

The World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe: The WHO Regional Office for Europe supports the 53 member states in the WHO European region in developing national policies and programmes for health and in contributing to global health improvement. Representatives of each member state meet in the WHO Regional Committee for Europe to develop regional […]

The European Union has evolved to become a key global health actor. This section provides and overview of its constitutional framework and its central institutions including the Council of Ministers, the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, The European Council, the EU Member State Permanent Representations, the European Parliament, the European Commission and the European External Action Service. The Council of Ministers: […]

The term ‘civil society’ broadly refers to social relationships and organizations outside either state (government) functions, or market-based relations that define people simply as ‘consumers’ rather than more collectively, for example, as citizens, neighbours or colleagues. Civil society organizations constitute a broad grouping that incorporates formally organized non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including faith-based charities, health NGOs, philanthropic foundations, and academic […]

The United Nations is an international organization, which was founded in 1945 after the Second World War by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights. The UN now has 192 member states. The central UN bodies (General Assembly, […]

Nation states play a central role in global governance for health. Their main role includes governance of their own health and care services, health protection, research and monitoring, and the management of the national and global impact of their policy actions. It is increasingly being realized that good governance of health necessarily requires attention to […]

In the 1950s and 1960s, the world could be divided, on the one hand, into a small group of rich ‘developed’ countries with functioning social welfare systems, small families and good health outcomes and a larger group of ‘developing’ countries with low incomes, poor education and health services, high birth rates, poor health and low […]