UNASUR Health: A quiet revolution in health diplomacy in South America

Abstract

Since the creation of Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), health policies became a strategic factor in South America to collectively balance the legacy of neoliberal policies in the region. The aim of this article is first to describe the social, political, and economic processes that explain the emergence of UNASUR and its focus on social policy through healthcare. We then analyze how by virtue of UNASUR’s Health Council, healthcare became the spearhead of cooperation giving way to novel forms of diplomacy. In so doing, this article contributes to a broader understanding of the regional health diplomacy and the process of unasurization of health policies as the process of building a new health framework.

South-South cooperation in health: bringing in theory, politics, history, and social justice

“…Key players include Cuba 104 , and under certain instances Brazil, China, South Africa, and Venezuela 90,105,106 . Various regional blocs also engage in SJSSC, such as ALBA, articulating Third World alliances linked with global civil society 107 , and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), which also seeks "de-neoliberalization" via health diplomacy 108 , but not IBSA, which has followed a top-down and mild approach 109 .…”

Brazil in Regional and Global Governance:Foreign Policy, Leadership and UNASUR

“…These processes suggest that global health diplomacy and global health governance were attracting increasing foreign policy attention from governments, and were a growing concern for civil society actors and multilateral institutions [Labonté and Gagnon, 2010] Academic researchers of regional cooperation in South America have observed that the health sector is one of the main examples of Brazil's commitment to the region. Brazil played a central role in the creation and development of the CSS where health ministers of UNASUR members meet to find common ground on promoting health policies and programmes [Herrero and Tussie, 2015;Pinheiro and Gaio, 2016]. Leticia Pineiro and Gabrieli Gaio [2016] suggest that Brazil takes part in this council mainly through the Fiocruz Foundation.…”

“…Leticia Pineiro and Gabrieli Gaio [2016] suggest that Brazil takes part in this council mainly through the Fiocruz Foundation. Maria Belen Herrero and Diana Tussie [2015] write that Brazil's contributions to the formation of Instituto Sudamericano de Gobierno en Salud in Spanish (South American Institute of Governance in Health, or ISAGS) under UNASUR included hosting the organization in Rio de Janeiro and providing a start-up grant, and has allowed continued technical work beyond the intermittent meetings of the CSS and its technical groups [Herrero and Tussie, 2015]. The main objectives of ISAGS are to:…”

“…ISAGS, accordingly, seeks to identify industrial capacities in the region, to coordinate common policies for producing medicines and other health goods, and to create competitive advantages for local industry in providing regional health and in global negotiations. Highlighting the contribution to creating new norms, Herrero and Tussie [2015] suggest that the health institutions of UNASUR, including the CSS, its technical groups and their work with ISAGS, are "crucial mechanisms" for establishing new "normative frameworks." In essence, the CSS is organizing new shared rules and procedures for health governance in its member countries, and ISAGS is acting as a regional think tank, aiming to "redefine the boundaries between public interests and private sector actors," including brokering tensions amid the technical sharing [Herrero and Tussie, 2015].…”

“…Highlighting the contribution to creating new norms, Herrero and Tussie [2015] suggest that the health institutions of UNASUR, including the CSS, its technical groups and their work with ISAGS, are "crucial mechanisms" for establishing new "normative frameworks." In essence, the CSS is organizing new shared rules and procedures for health governance in its member countries, and ISAGS is acting as a regional think tank, aiming to "redefine the boundaries between public interests and private sector actors," including brokering tensions amid the technical sharing [Herrero and Tussie, 2015]. Herrero and Tussie also propose that the UNASUR health institutions are also playing an advocacy role in global health talks, advancing what Tussie [2014] elsewhere calls "posthegemonic" norms, such as institutionalizing a commitment to health for all.…”