On International Women’s Day 2025, we pause to examine the converging crises defining our global moment—a period marked by pervasive neoliberal policies, entrenched systems of oppression, and the deliberate marginalization of vulnerable populations.
Language of 'solidarity' is often invoked in global health discourse. But what would meaningful enactments of solidarity look like in the field of health? Collective member Lauren Paremoer offers her reflections.
What do we do when an institution that is supposed to serve and protect the public interest has been so thoroughly captured by the interests it is supposed to regulate that it becomes hostile to the very people it is supposed to serve? Global health experts can impact unfolding events in many ways, working with government officials and institutions, civil society and mass movements, and in discussions taking place in their own universities and communities.
In a matter of weeks, President Trump has upended global governance for health since he took office for the second time. While lives and livelihoods are being lost it smacks of detached privilege to repeat the mantra that crisis is opportunity. But too much is at stake to allow the discourse to be defined by the reckless arsonists and those who merely seek to return to the status quo ante.
What should we do to overcome malnutrition? Teoh Ai Ni and Collective member Jomo Kwame Sundaram offer their thoughts
"The rise of finance in the global economy and in the governance of its leading states has been pronounced." says Collective member Benjamin Hunter and points to his new co-authored report which offers recommendations aimed at defending key values and accountability in global health.
"Despite growing mainstream recognition that contemporary health inequalities stem from the colonial world order, actual changes remain elusive" say Park Seohwa and Collective Member Jin-Hwan Kim. They offer their reflections on the South Korean case.
What is needed for a just climate and health transformation? and how are the two connected? Collective member Remco van de Pas gives his three main takes from the COP29 Climate summit.
"Colonial legacies, post-independence struggles, and clientelist politics create fragmented authority and competing agendas that complicate efforts for cohesive, multisectoral policies in health and development" says Collective Member Aloysius Ssennyonjo. He offers recommendations on how to improve urban health in Africa.
"Given the enormous resources that PEPFAR, USAID, and other major Western donors bring to Africa in the name of global health, rechanneling the lion’s share to long term investment in public institutions would not only be transformational, but honor the principles of decolonization through support for local governance of health and the ultimate goal of the SDG’s Universal Health Coverage ." Writes Collective member James Pfeiffer
An important shift is occurring in global health ethics. A field that used to be intensely concerned with questions of distributive justice increasingly sees calls for restorative justice emerge. This became particularly evident during the early years of the Covid-19 pandemic. Following recent calls for greater attention to global health justice debates, Collective member Felix Stein considers such restorative justice claims in greater detail.
Will the current mpox public health emergency replicate the global vaccine inequality experienced during the Covid-19 Pandemic? In this article, originally published by The Conversation, Collective members Deborah Gleeson and Ronald Labonté join Joel Lexchin and Birgitte Tenni to discuss.
If digital technologies are a determinant of health, what determines digital access, inclusion and security in the future? Collective member Meg Davis reflects.
The WHO has identified vaccine hesitancy as a threat to global health. How can we work to build public trust and counteract misinformation? Collective member Kelley Lee offers her reflections.
How can Health for All be achieved? Collective member Naoki Ikegami offers his thoughts on how to increase efficiency in health care.
How have the International Monetary Fund's austerity measures impacted health systems? Collective member Ramya Kumar takes a closer look at the case of Sri Lanka
How does the alcohol industry influence and shape policy in the Philippines? Collective member Gianna Gayle Amul shares her insight
Collective member Ron Labonté questions what the future might hold for us - and how we might try to change it.
Collective Member Nora Kenworthy is the author of a new book out this week titled, Crowded Out: The True Costs of Crowdfunding Healthcare (MIT Press, 2024). The book offers an exploration of the growing phenomenon of crowdfunding for health and medical needs, written for generalist audiences. In it, Kenworthy explains why crowdfunding has become so popular, what it reflects about the political and economic factors that shape our health systems, and how it is ultimately exacerbating health inequities.
Collective member Robert Yates makes the case that universal health coverage can be both feasible and affordable, even during periods of crisis.
How did countries with fragmented health care systems handle the Covid-19 pandemic? Collective member Fredline A. O. M’Cormack-Hale reflects on examples from Sierra Leone.
Around the world, animal farming is often presented as the main cause for the development of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). Aquaculture has become the fastest growing sector of food production in the world and most of the production takes place in low and middle-income countries. Collective member Marine Al Dahdah introduces a new research project which intends to assess the current regulation and controversies around shrimp farming in India.
Ten years ago, The Lancet-UiO Commission on Global Governance for Health released a report on the political origins of health inequity. In this blog, Remco van de Pas takes stock of the commission's main themes and recommendations, and suggests some alternative pathways.
Can algorithmic justice guarantee health justice globally? Collective member Mary F. E. Ebeling reflects on how artificial intelligence could both help and hinder global health justice.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a major player in global health governance, promoting the role of the private sector. But it appears to lack accountability – even to its own members
A blog written by members of The Political Determinants of Health Collective, where they discuss how their work contributes to furthering knowledge and research in this area.
