Clean Your House and Don’t Get Pregnant

2021 ◽  
pp. 107-138
Author(s):  
Clare Wenham
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Social Reproduction ◽  
The State ◽  
Policy Response ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Stratified Reproduction ◽  
Breeding Grounds ◽  
Mosquito Breeding

Drawing on social reproduction, and stratified reproduction, this chapter demonstrates that there is a tension between the securitised approach of the Zika response and the lived reality of the women most affected. In doing so, it also reveals a struggle between the state and women. The securitised policy response at national levels placed the responsibility onto women to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes, to reduce mosquito breeding grounds, and ultimately to avoid bearing a child with CZS. This is problematic: women were not included in the decision-making to create suitable policy pathways to reduce their risks of infection, to the extent that the very population the response should have provided for, has been systematically excluded from the response. Women were instrumentalised, objectified, and responsibilised by the state. Thus, the chapter shows, global health security through a state-centric delivery of security is failing women.

Feminist Global Health Security

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare Wenham
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Global Health Policy ◽  
Stratified Reproduction ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Disease Focus ◽  
Term Response

Feminist Global Health Security highlights the ways in which women are disadvantaged by global health security policy, through engagement with feminist concepts of visibility; social and stratified reproduction; intersectionality; and structural violence. The book argues that an approach focused on short-term response efforts to health emergencies fails to consider the differential impacts of outbreaks on women. This feminist critique focuses on the policy response to the Zika outbreak, which centred on limiting the spread of the vector through civic participation and asking women to defer pregnancy, actions that are inherently gendered and reveal a distinct lack of consideration of the everyday lives of women. The book argues that because global health security lacks a substantive feminist engagement, policies created to manage an outbreak of disease focus on protecting economies and state security and disproportionately fail to protect women. This state-based structure of global health security provides the fault-line for global health security and women. Women are both differentially infected and affected by epidemics and, the book argues: it was no coincidence that poor, black women living in low quality housing were most affected by the Zika outbreak. More broadly, it poses the question: What would global health policy look like if it were to take gender seriously, and how would this impact global disease control sustainability?

Conclusion

2021 ◽  
pp. 165-190
Author(s):  
Clare Wenham
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
The State ◽  
Third Wave Feminism ◽  
Third Wave ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Structural Failure ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Referent Object

This chapter reconceptualises the findings from Zika to the global level to understand what global heath security can learn from unpacking this health emergency and how global health security policy can be made more gender inclusive. It also readdress the state-centric focus of the global health security narrative, which has systematically excluded women, through repositioning women as the referent object of securitisation. The chapter suggests that women’s needs and lived reality should be taken into consideration and that policy might be developed which makes tangible approaches to counteracting the risks posed to women, rather than focusing on broader systems, economies or societies. Finally, it considers that the book has not done justice to women’s agency within outbreaks, and painting them as victims of a broader structural failure within third wave feminism overlooks the activities that women have undertaken to protect themselves from disease or its effects.

Epilogue

2021 ◽  
pp. 191-206
Author(s):  
Clare Wenham
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Mental Load ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Downstream Effects ◽  
Stratified Reproduction ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
The World

This epilogue discusses COVID-19, which reveal much about gender in global health security. It highlights that women are more likely to be healthcare workers, demonstrating the visibility missing in COVID-19, yet this is not recognised by policymakers. Women are also more likely to suffer the downstream effects of social reproduction through school closures and stay-at-home orders as well as the associated mental load. The epilogue also shows how COVID-19 has affected access to SRH services with an impact on stratified reproduction. It concludes that the everyday crisis of women trying to manage the response, whilst at risk of soaring rates of GBV and lack of access to sanitation and space, verifies the argument made throughout this book. Now the world is listening.

scholarly journals Global policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic: proportionate adaptation and policy experimentation: a study of country policy response variation to the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 359-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arlina Dewi ◽  
Achmad Nurmandi ◽  
Erna Rochmawati ◽  
Eko Priyo Purnomo ◽  
Muhammad Dimas Rizqi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
Virus Transmission ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Policy Response ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Policy Experimentation ◽  
National Capacity ◽  
The Government

Background: Concern for the development of actions against COVID-19 has continued to grow since February 2020. Government responses remain a crucial part of preventing virus transmission through policy formulation and strengthening national capacity. Methods: This study has used quantitative analysis, using secondary data from 177 countries. The variables consist of Global Health Security (GHS) category and COVID-19 pandemic. An analysis of the appropriateness of the government’s policy response in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic was carried out by comparing the two variables. Results: The study indicated a significant relationship between global health security category and pandemic score (P < 0.01). There were 37 countries out of 177 (20.9%) categorized as under-reaction and least-reaction. Conclusion: Pandemic COVID-19 score, rated based on doubling time, is directly significant with the health security category. The government should improve its responsiveness and preparation to improve national capacity during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

scholarly journals An evaluation of the global health security agenda steering group governance interventions

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
N E DeShore ◽  
J A Johnson ◽  
P Malone ◽  
R Greenhill ◽  
W Wuenstal
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
Health System ◽  
System Performance ◽  
Health System Performance ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Member States ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Governance Indicators ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Global Health Security Agenda

Abstract Background Member States lack of compliance with 2005 IHR implementation led to the launched of the Global Health Security Agenda. This research will provide an understanding of how the Global Health Security Agenda Steering Group (GHSA SG) governance interventions impact health system performance and global health security. This will enhance the understanding of a Steering Group's governance interventions in complex Global Health initiatives. Research questions: To what extent have GHSA SG governance interventions contributed towards enabling health system performance of WHO Member States? To what extent have GHSA SG governance interventions contributed towards the implementation of global health security among WHO Member States? Methods Correlational analysis using Spearman's rho examined the relationship between governance, health system performance and global health security variables at one point in time. A convenience non-probability sample consisting of eight WHO Member States was used. SPSS Statistics generated the bivariate correlation analyzes. Results Governance and health system performance analysis indicated a statistically significant strong positive effect size in 11 out of 18 and moderate positive effect size in the remaining seven out of 18 health system performance indicators. Governance and global health security analysis concluded three of the governance indicators had strong and moderate positive coefficients. Global health security variables demonstrated weak effects in the remaining three governance indicators. Conclusions This study presents a case for health systems embedding in global health security. Health system performance is only as effective at protecting populations when countries achieve core capacities of preparedness and response to global health threats. The associations provide stakeholders information about key characteristics of governance that influence health system performance and global health security implementation. Key messages This study provides an argument for the continued support of the GHSA 2024 Framework with implementation of global health security capabilities and meeting 2005 IHR requirements. The GHSA SG governance role remains profoundly important in establishing sustainable efforts internationally towards achieving the objectives of the GHSA in support of the 2005 IHR standards.

Spread of Infections and Global Health Security

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-330
Author(s):  
Arnauld Nicogossian ◽  
Edward J. Septimus ◽  
Otmar Kloiber ◽  
Bonnie Stabile ◽  
Thomas Zimmerman
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Health Security

scholarly journals The utilisation of tools to facilitate cross-border communication during international food safety events, 1995–2020: a realist synthesis

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Joseph Savelli ◽  
Raul Fernando Garcia Acevedo ◽  
Jane Simpson ◽  
Céu Mateus
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Realist Synthesis ◽  
Foodborne Disease ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Programme Theory ◽  
Communication Tools ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Communication And Coordination

AbstractEfficient communication and coordination are needed between countries to prevent, detect and respond to international food safety events. While communication tools, networks and systems exist, current evidence suggests that they are only useful within particular contexts and several only target specific geographic areas. There is a need to unpack and explore the mechanisms of how and in what context such communication tools and their components are effective at facilitating international communication and coordination to keep food safe and mitigate the burden of foodborne disease around the world.A realist synthesis was undertaken to understand how and why certain processes and structures of communication tools, used during international food safety events, influence their utility and effectiveness according to different contextual factors. The focus of this review was explanatory and aimed to develop and refine theory regarding how contextual factors trigger specific processes and mechanisms to produce outcomes. Using the realist context–mechanism–outcome configuration of theory development, a range of sources was used to develop an initial programme theory, including the authors’ experience, a scoping review of published papers and grey literature and input from an expert reference committee. Literature was then systematically located and synthesised from several databases with input from the expert reference committee to refine the programme theory.The programme theory developed indicates that when a country has interests in food import or export, has the technical infrastructure to detect and respond to food safety events, and is governed in accordance with regional and/or global laws and regulations relating to food control and global health security, then specific mechanisms will facilitate various outcomes. Mechanisms include trust, experience, support, awareness, understanding, a sense of community, standardisation and intersectoral collaboration. The outcomes include using communication tools to relay information abroad and the prevention of foodborne diseases, among others.Components of such communication tools may be adapted according to different contextual factors to promote, support and improve their use. Improving international coordination and communication during international food safety events is in the interest of global health security and can mitigate the global burden of foodborne disease.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document