Powerful Allies and Weak Consensus: Towards a Deeper Understanding of how Health-Harming Industries Seek to Influence Global Health Governance; Comment on "Competing Frames in Global Health Governance: An Analysis of Stakeholder Influence on the Political Declaration on Non-Communicable Diseases"

Author(s):  
Marco Zenone ◽  
Benjamin Hawkins

Suzuki et al. have identified commonalities in the policy positions adopted at a global forum by commercial sector actors and high-income countries, on the one hand, and non-governmental organizations and low- and middle-income countries, on the other, in ways that may allow commercial sector actors to block or delay evidence-based policies through the creation of political controversy. The ability of industry actors to draw on the support of the most politically and economically powerful countries for their favoured policy agenda is an important contribution to understanding the dynamics of global health governance in the area of non-communicable diseases and beyond. Here we assess the relevance of this paper for the field of corporate actors’ research and the potential avenues this opens up for further study. More specifically we emphasize the need for comparative, cross disciplinary research to examine the power of heath-harming industries and the relevance of these findings for decolonizing global health.

Author(s):  
Johanna Ralston

In recognition of the global burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), the past decade has seen three U.N. High Level Meetings on NCDs. Yet progress in terms of political or financial commitments has been very slow. At the 2018 meeting, a political declaration was approved but featured language that had been watered down in terms of commitments. In "Competing Frames of Global Health Governance: An Analysis of Stakeholder Influence on the Political Declaration on Non-communicable Diseases," Suzuki et al analyze the documents that were submitted by Member States, NGOs and the private sector during the consultation period and conclude that the private sector and several high-income countries appeared to oppose regulatory frameworks for products associated with NCDs , that wealthier countries resisted financing commitments, and that general power asymmetries affected the final document. This comment supports their findings and provides additional considerations for why the NCD response has yet to produce significant commitments.


Author(s):  
Angela Carriedo ◽  
Kathrin Lauber ◽  
Margaret M. Miller ◽  
Rob Ralston

This commentary engages with Suzuki and colleagues’ analysis about the ambiguity of multi-stakeholder discourses in the United Nations (UN) Political Declaration of the 3rd High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (HLM-NCDs), suggesting that blurring between public and private sector in this declaration reflects broader debates about multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) and public-private partnerships (PPPs) in health governance. We argue that the ambiguity between the roles and responsibilities of public and private actors involved may downplay the role (and regulation) of conflicts of interest (COI) between unhealthy commodity industries and public health. We argue that this ambiguity is not simply an artefact of the Political Declaration process, but a feature of multi-stakeholderism, which assumes that commercial actors´ interests can be aligned with the public interest. To safeguard global health governance, we recommend further empirical and conceptual research on COI and how it can be managed.


Author(s):  
Mary Robinson

Institutions matter for the advancement of human rights in global health. Given the dramatic development of human rights under international law and the parallel proliferation of global institutions for public health, there arises an imperative to understand the implementation of human rights through global health governance. This volume examines the evolving relationship between human rights, global governance, and public health, studying an expansive set of health challenges through a multi-sectoral array of global organizations. To analyze the structural determinants of rights-based governance, the organizations in this volume include those international bureaucracies that implement human rights in ways that influence public health in a globalizing world. Bringing together leading health and human rights scholars and practitioners from academia, non-governmental organizations, and the United Nations system, this volume explores: (1) the foundations of human rights as a normative framework for global health governance, (2) the mandate of the World Health Organization to pursue a human rights-based approach to health, (3) the role of inter-governmental organizations across a range of health-related human rights, (4) the influence of rights-based economic governance on public health, and (5) the focus on global health among institutions of human rights governance. Contributing chapters map the distinct human rights activities within a specific institution of global governance for health. Through the comparative institutional analysis in this volume, the contributing authors examine institutional efforts to operationalize human rights in organizational policies, programs, and practices and assess institutional factors that facilitate or inhibit human rights mainstreaming for global health advancement.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 44s-44s
Author(s):  
Shannon L. Silkensen ◽  
John S. Flanigan

Abstract 78 In many low and middle-income countries (LMICs) there is a marked need to build or enhance research infrastructure to support basic, translational, clinical, and population science on non-communicable diseases, mental health and injuries (NCDs). To support this growing need, the NCI's Center for Global Health recently invited investigators throughout the world to apply for Planning Grants for Regional Infrastructure Centers (RCREs) for the coordination of research on NCDs in LMICs. The purpose of the funding opportunity (FOA) is to facilitate the planning and designing of RCRE that will build on collaborative partnerships among investigators from institutions in high-income countries (HICs)/ Upper Middle Income Countries (UMIC) and LMICs. The presentation will provide details of the opportunity for funding from the NCI, how partnerships can be created, the requirements for the application to the program and its multiple funding timelines, and early information about the program's global reach. The NCI Center for Global Health encourages the CUGH community to examine and become involved in this this opportunity as primary or partner applicants. AUTHORS' DISCLOSURES OF POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: No COIs from either author.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 636-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evgeniya Plotnikova ◽  
Sarah E Hill ◽  
Alex Wright ◽  
Jeff Collin

IntroductionThe success of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) depends on parties’ active participation in its governance and implementation, particularly via biennial Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings. The COP’s efficacy is threatened by declining attendance and reductions in travel support for low-income and middle-income countries, and there are growing concerns about transparency and representation in country delegations amid industry efforts to shape their composition.MethodsWe examined parties’ participation in the COP based on official meeting records, and the relationship between attendance and strength of tobacco control based on national global tobacco control reports.ResultsAttendance at the COP has decreased over time, and at several meetings would have fallen below 66% (the threshold for decision-making) if it was not for high levels of participation among low-income and lower-middle-income countries. Despite their higher attendance at COP meetings, these countries represent a smaller share of meeting attendees due to the smaller size of their delegations. Additionally, there has been a decline in the proportion of delegates from ministries of health and tobacco control focal points. Nationally, COP participation is correlated with stronger tobacco control policies; attendance by low-income countries has a strong correlation with implementation of advertising bans, while attendance among high-income and lower-middle-income countries shows a moderate correlation with implementation of tobacco taxes.ConclusionsSupporting states to actively engage in the COP is crucial for ongoing FCTC implementation, strengthening national capacity for tobacco control, and protecting the legitimacy and efficacy of global health governance.


Author(s):  
Sebastian del Busto ◽  
Inés Galindo ◽  
Juan Hernandez ◽  
Francisco Camarelles ◽  
Esther Nieto ◽  
...  

Chronic diseases, also known as non-communicable diseases (NCD) are one of the most important public health problems of our time. Many of these diseases can be reduced by achieving healthy lifestyles. Community interventions are very useful in reducing these types of diseases since they have a direct impact over daily conditions and are adjustable to the complex situations that they carry. This article describes the process of the creation of a collaborative platform for the design and implementation of community interventions to prevent NCDs. This platform includes six non-governmental organizations who have aligned their prevention and health promotion objectives to develop joint community interventions. The intervention levels approach, based on the socio-ecological model has been the basic model to structure the working groups of the platform. Dealing with institutional differences, complexity and variability of contexts, defining the roles and responsibilities and managing the resources are key elements to have in mind to achieve good relations and functional partnerships to design and implement effective community interventions at different levels. Institutional recognition, support and planning based on local priorities are also key elements for these kinds of platforms to be successful, sustainable and, therefore, have an impact on people’s health.


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