Category: General

This section of the glossary has outlined the commitments of the European Union to aspects of global health. These show how widely these complex issues are taken up across a broad range of EU’s policy commitments. What is less clear is how such commitments will be delivered in practice. It appears that while there are […]

The link between health and the environment is reflected in the burden of current diseases linked to environmental factors. Indoor and outdoor air pollution is considered to be the most important factor impacting health, with 20 million Europeans suffering from respiratory problems every day. The overall cost to society of asthma, an growing problem all […]

Consumer protection is a critical dimension for global health action to protect against risks and threats to health that are beyond the control of citizens, wherever they may live or travel. In today’s globalized economy, addressing consumer safety in Europe involves addressing manufacturing and production standards worldwide. It is also a test of international cooperation […]

Trade policies are plans and actions that affect the international commercial exchange of goods or services and, in particular, the regulation of exchanges and multilateral agreements governing the application of tariffs or non-tariff barriers to trade. These policies have a profound impact on health. Trade can affect health in various ways. The impact may be […]

There are many crucial links between health and agricultural policies. Policies that support agriculture may also interfere with market prices and, therefore, influence European consumer decisions; for example, agricultural subsidies may lower the price of tobacco, sugar, fats or alcohol and, thereby, impact on non-communicable diseases. Policies regarding agricultural practices can also have a profound […]

A humanitarian crisis is a large-scale crisis of human welfare. It can be naturally occurring, such as in the case of an earthquake or tsunami, or it can be man-made, for example, by war. Every humanitarian crisis poses a threat to health, but the severity depends on the nature of the event and the vulnerability […]

To respond to the pressing need for environmental protection within its borders, the EU will also need to go beyond data collection and analysis and ensure that its commitment to examine the health impact of all economic and social policies is applied in practice. Given the differences in exposure and resulting inequalities in the burden […]

There is now widespread agreement that global warming is occurring and that it is likely to destabilize climatic conditions around the world. Changes in climate will, in turn, result in changes in the environmental determinants of health as well as in the frequency of extreme environmental conditions such as heat waves, floods and droughts. A […]

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank’s sister organization, provides oversight of the world’s economic and financial systems, acts as the lender of last resort for economies facing severe balance of payment difficulties, and provides technical standards and advice. In the 1990s, the IMF was criticized for its dogmatic adherence to the ‘Washington Consensus’, […]

When it was established, in 1944 the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which would come to be known as the World Bank, had no competence in health. In its early years, the bank focused solely on assisting countries to develop and reconstruct through policies to enable economic growth. It was in the 1960s, when […]