The Evolution of Global Health Governance

English School theorizing specifically emphasizes the evolutionary and adaptive nature of international institutions, and global health governance institutions have undergone significant evolution and adaptation since the mid-nineteenth century. Since the first efforts to promote international cooperation on quarantine regulations, global health governance has become increasingly institutionalized, expanded to include a broad range of actors, and broadened its normative orientation. This chapter examines the evolution of global health governance by focusing on seven key moments and institutions: the International Sanitary Conferences; the League of Nations Health Office; the World Health Organization; the Health for All by 2000 movement; the International Health Regulations; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria; and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. These seven points illustrate both the changes within global health governance and the changing ideas about moral obligation and responsibility.