The Globalization of Healthcare Is a Fact. Let's Act Accordingly
OPINION |

The Globalization of Healthcare Is a Fact. Let's Act Accordingly

THIS IS WHY WE NEED A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO PROTECT PEOPLE'S HEALTH WITH A STRATEGY THAT UNITES HEALTH PRACTITIONERS, ADMINISTRATORS, AND POLICYMAKERS AROUND THE WORLD

by Eduardo Missoni, Bocconi Department of Social and Political Sciences
Translated by Alex Foti


The profound transformations produced in less than a century since the acceleration of globalization transcend national boundaries and control mechanisms far beyond the intensification of connections and relations between states, redefining the geography of social relations and requiring new categories of analysis and intervention in the field of health governance and health policies.

The planetary scale of current environmental, social and economic problems that are dramatically reflected in health indicators require public health policies that take into account the global and cross-sector nature of determining factors.

Global health studies differ from the more traditional international public health studies that dealing with initiatives negotiated and agreed in the context of relations between national states. They also differ sharply from purely cosmetic operations such as the re-labeling as a global health endeavor of so-called tropical medicine, the various health activities carried out in the context of international development and aid programs. The global health approach instead looks at health in its broadest sense, not only as the physical and mental condition of an individual, but in its correlation with social well-being. It is a necessarily interdisciplinary approach that addresses health issues in a transnational and global, planetary dimension, where the social, environmental, economic and political determinants intersect with increasing complexity with each other, inevitably interacting with national and local systems.

To give just a few examples, think of the transformation of ecosystems caused by climate change, where despite the evidence of environmental risks for health, commitments undertaken at a global level still delay the necessary policies and investments to reduce their impact, with consequent inexorable growth in the social and economic costs of maladies due to pollution and global warming.

The increase in the proportion of chronic diseases is also significantly affected by consumption of ultra-processed foods, promoted by aggressive production and commercial strategies that only a joint transnational action of all sectors of society can effectively counteract. In this sense, the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control, which came into force in 2005, constitutes an important reference model for other industries.

The easy spread of epidemics, the impact on health and access to health care in relation to free trade agreements, the health of migrants, the consequences of an uncontrolled circulation of medical information on social networks, are other examples of important issues in global health.

For the goal of "healthy lives and well-being for all, at all ages", written into the WHO mission statement on sustainable development,  to be real and not rhetorical, a major paradigm shift is needed. It is necessary to put human health and the global ecosystem at the center of political, social and economic actions at global, national and local levels, ensuring there are appropriate interactions and alliances between stakeholders, so that "no one is left behind".

To protect public health we need everyone's cooperation. Here's what Bocconi alumni Dadari and Capello ask of stakeholders in order to overcome this challenge


Dr Ibrahim Dadari

From vaccines to screening techniques
Achieving the global health targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 will require significant inputs and innovative approaches. Public and private companies, and institutions have a significant role to play towards the realization of the global health targets including the unfinished business of the MDGs, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and universal health coverage (UHC).
 
Institutions and companies should advance and promote special focus on research and innovation geared at preventing or managing targeted diseases, such as rapid screening techniques for early detection of NCDs, new or heat-stable vaccines for emerging infectious diseases and even NCDs, etc. Companies can also make available funding for priority global health interventions in the form of corporate social responsibility (CSR), which should prioritize equity-focused interventions, considering universal access is a key focus of the 2030 global health agenda. Communities and development agencies should be able to tap into these available funds. Companies can also serve as voices of global health, promoting specific thematic areas of the 2030 agenda.
 

Cecilia Capello

Information and access to services
Companies should support governments in designing and implementing public health policies that address health determinants, so that people have the information and the means to stay healthy.They have the duty to protect people's right to health, especially those who are most vulnerable, such as women, migrants, children and peoplewith disabilities, whose right to health is often unprotected or evenviolated by current governments.

Companies must protect the right to access goods and health services and citizens' right to know how to be healthy and stay healthy, how to access a healthy diet and exercise,
have access to vaccines and other preventive measures, sexual education in schools, etc. Only if companies enter into partnerships with citizens, civil society, non-governmental organizations and the state in support of people's right to health, can sustainable development goals be achieved.

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