Zed Books Global Health Watch 2: An Alternative World Health Report

In an increasingly integrated and globalised world characterized by, among other things, new cross-border threats to health, widening disparities in health and access to health care and an unacceptable level of human suffering and premature mortality in developing countries, civil society actors are asking 'why is so little progress being made'? Like its critically-acclaimed predecessor, the second edition of the 'Global Health Watch' covers a comprehensive range of health topics, including access to medicines, mental health, water and sanitation, nutrition, and war and conflict. Unlike other reports on global health, it also draws attention to the politics of global health and the policies and actions of key actors. Hence chapters on official aid programmes, including a dedicated chapter on the United States foreign assistance programme for global health; the Gates Foundation; the World Bank; and the Global Fund; and the World Health Organisation. Review 'We shall require many more social innovations, like the People Health Charter, the People Health Movement and the Global Health Watch, if mankind is to survive.' --Dr. Suwit Wibulpolprasert, MD., Senior Advisor on Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand'Ambitious, daring and foresighted, everyone should read GHW2. This is a brave report, and everyone will take something from it' --Gill Walt, Professor of international health policy, LSHTM'Excellent ... I highly recommend this treasure trove, which is full of food for thought, to scholars and health workers alike' --Dr Maria Isabel Rodriguez, Rector of University of El Salvador 1999-2007 About the Author Global Health Watch is a collaboration of leading popular movements and nongovernmental organizations comprising civil society activists, community groups, health workers and academics. It has compiled this alternative world health report - a hard-hitting, evidence-based analysis of the political economy of health and health care - as a challenge to the major global bodies that influence health. Its monitoring of institutions including the World Bank, the World Health Organization and UNICEF reveals that while some important initiatives are being taken, much more needs to be done to have any hope of meeting the UN's health-related Millennium Development Goals.