L20 and Global Public Health: Background Paper

to appear in Globalization and Governance

Evans, Drager, Pablos-Mendez, and Cassels

Published: December 2000

Keywords: L20, global, public, health, care, G-20, leaders, HIV, AIDS, cooperation, epidemics, e-Health, technology, science, Infectious Diseases and Pandemics, Global Health

Abstract:

This paper aims to serve as a background document for the G-20 leaders meeting on Global Public Health. It begins by making the case for health as a special good both
intrinsically and instrumentally. It then provides a global overview of the current health situation and trends from a global health perspective with special attention to health needs of poorer countries and populations. It then examines the ways in which a G-20 of Leaders might tackle global health problems according to three principles: 1) the need to put neglected issues on the global health agenda; 2) opportunities for scale efficiencies in cooperation; and 3) intersectoral engagement. The paper then addresses three specific but fundamentally different health challenges with a view to assessing the G-20 comparative advantage; the potential benefits from G-20 engagement; and the costs involved in taking action.

Disciplines: Governance

Publication: l20-and-global-public-health.pdf