In the first reading by Lawrence Gostin, Global Health Law In The Broader Currents Of Global Governance For Health And Global

Alejandra Villegas

ANTH 2311-91L

In the first reading by Lawrence Gostin, Global Health Law In The Broader Currents Of Global Governance For Health And Global Health, International Trade And Intellectual Property, Gostin writes about the major sources of global health law, the failures of global health laws, and global health in the global south. Global health laws are directly connected to public international laws whose source is primarily the state’s sovereignty. However, apart from the state, international laws are also a subject of international organizations whose influence comes in through the development of human rights laws. International law is limited as it fails to include the nonstate parties, lacks enforceability, and has fake standards. The above disadvantages reflect on the global health law which further demeans it. Global health laws should be firm enough to spell out priorities; various coordinate activities, encourage investment, foster transparency, and accountability, and help in dispute resolution among other chief functions. In the south, globalization is getting popular through the deliverance of international trade. However, global health is bound to face certain impacts as globalization thrives. The trade, especially on health-related goods and services, is beneficial to the public health, but the trade system is expected to adjust its trading tariffs to maintain quality and affordability for the health-related goods and services. Trade in the south is not as effective as it is in the north and has left the people in the region stuck in poverty. Trade liberations demean the health and the lives of the poor in the region by favoring the interests of the richer individuals and the multinational corporations in the north.

The other reading by Howard Waitzkin, Medicine and Public Health at the End of Empire, Waitzkin writes about the relationship between the wealthy and the poor in the empire and philanthropic foundations. There has been a wave that suggests that the wealthy should bring back to society and for that reason, there have been foundations aimed at helping out in the needs of the society. In the reading, Waitzkin gives an example of the Rockefeller foundation which was initiated internationally to run campaigns against infectious diseases such as malaria and yellow fever. The foundation developed research institutes and disease eradication programs in almost all continents. The foundation helped in stabilizing the cost of health care which had initially risen due to lack of effective treatment of the infectious diseases. International health became a concern especially in Europe which led to the development of international public health organizations which aimed to control the spread of infectious diseases across the global borders especially in the regions affected by epidemics. The main aim of the concern on international public health was to preventing diseases from paralyzing international trade and investment. There was a need to protect the ports from ships that had been to the affected regions — Walkins in his writing focuses on the empire, public health, and health services. Later on, the World Health Organization (WHO) emerged as a sub-organization of the United Nations concerned with public health worldwide. Unlike the previous public health organization that focused more on trade protection, WHO is more concerned with the distribution of healthcare services.

Both of the above readings are concerned with public health and the connection between international public health and international trade. Major concerns in the public sector arose after the liberation of trade. Public health is a subject of globalization, and from the readings, it is clear that major health concerns particularly the epidemics such as malaria were a challenge to international trade between various continents. Safeguarding trading activities requires certain health-related restrictions have to be put in place, for instance, quarantine zones at the borders and even prevention of entry into different countries without clearances related to public health such as yellow fever cards. In previous times, public health concerns aimed more at protecting trade relations rather than controlling and eradicating the epidemics. However, in the present day world, public health is concerned with distributing health care services across the world and ensuring all the public can access these services. Through WHO, services such as the distribution of mosquito nets, vaccinations, and even distribution of drugs in the epidemic affected areas have been made available worldwide. Initially, the main focus was on preventing the epidemics from spreading across the geographical domain. The ports were major points of concern. The current public health organizations aim at supporting even the low-class members of society in fighting against infectious diseases. The organizations are more concerned with the global public health and distribution of health care services across the globe. The first reading by Gostin covers the trade relations and global health laws between the trading domains. Its main focus is on maintain trade while the second reading by Waitzkin covers public health care and distribution of health care services globally through organizations such as WHO.

The concern on public health globally has me thinking about the efforts of various public health care organizations and governments. Is health care supposed to be solely a function of the state government? Do global health laws count? According to both readings I discussed above, public health care and international trade are related. The United Nations have a sub-organization, WHO, concerned with health care and distribution of health care services globally. Are such organizations there because the trade has to be protected from health care challenges or the organizations are about humanity and conserving life?