Values in global health governance

Abstract

In the 60 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was promulgated, the promise of achieving respect for the human rights, health and well being of all is becoming an ever more distant prospect. We have not even remotely met the challenge of improving health for a large proportion of the world's population, and the prospects for improving global health seem to be receding in the current deteriorating economic and political climate. As global health remains one of the most pressing problems of our time, we must question the values that direct our actions and current approaches, which proclaim 'human rights to health' but which subsume these rights to a broader paradigm of unregulated global market economics and national politics, rather than working to make these oft-contradictory goals mutually compatible through justifiable and accountable global governance processes. We suggest that a new balance of values and new ways of thinking and acting are needed. These must transcend national and institutional boundaries and recognise that health in the most privileged nations is closely linked to health and disease in impoverished countries. Sustainable development of health and well-being is a necessity for all, and values for health should permeate every area of social and economic activity.

Global health inequalities and the need for solidarity: a view from the Global South

“…As Benatar has pointed out, 'a world in which neither rich nor poor care if millions of the members of the other group die is a fertile breeding ground for ongoing conflict and unnecessary loss of life on a grand scale.' 65 Will the sharing of health resources with others that the value of solidarity promotes not jeopardize incentive for research and development of new drugs? The development of new drugs is a very costly process and pharmaceutical companies depend on the profit from the sale of these drugs to recover the huge expenses.…”

History, Structure and Agency in Global Health Governance Comment on "Global Health Governance Challenges 2016 – Are We Ready?"

“…18 Indeed, she makes no mention of the fact that the problems we face today are also the legacy of centuries of imperialism and colonialism, and of ideological and political agendas that have long been recognised as flawed, and show little signs of abating. 31 The more recent problems for health arising from neoliberalism are highlighted in the Lancet-University of Oslo Commission Report, 16 but even there, basic underlying structures of power, wealth and global inequality, and their effects on agency and governance, are not fully accounted for. …”

Ebola and Learning Lessons from Moral Failures: Who Cares about Ethics?: Table 1.

“…Yet, explicit attention to the ethical character of the EVD lessons and the normative challenges that will invariably exist in correcting our failures in the future is either lacking or altogether absent in the reviewed organizational 'lessons learned' documents. There is no affirmation that many of the failures, as well as the improvements required to redress them, require the embrace and promotion of ethical values that may not yet be embodied by leading actors and organizations operating in global health (Benatar, et al, 2010;Benatar, 2013). For instance, of its 29 pages, not a single reference is made to 'ethics' in the final report of the World Health Organization Ebola Interim Assessment Panel, nor is there an explicit acknowledgment of the value-laden and rigidly contested nature of global health decision-making and activities (World Health Organization, 2015a).…”

“…Instead, examining and seeking to redress health systems fragility beyond its role as a threat to global security, but rather as an obstacle to well-being and a failure of global health justice, may be what is required to address these failings in a substantial and sustainable manner. However, this requires significant political will and a challenging reorientation for sovereign nations, multinational corporations and international agreements toward addressing the fundamental health needs of those most vulnerable populations in our global community; in short, a new paradigm for global health governance (Theme 6) (Benatar et al, 2009(Benatar et al, , 2010). This will not occur without explicitly acknowledging the moral character of these failures and the values that must motivate and guide future global health activities (Ruger, 2012;Benatar, 2013).…”