International Journal of Health Policy and Management

International Journal of Health Policy and Management

Critical Global Health: Responding to Poverty, Inequality and Climate Change; Comment on “Politics, Power, Poverty and Global Health: Systems and Frames”

Document Type : Commentary

Author
David McCoy
Centre for Primary Care and Public Health, Queen Mary University, London, UK
10.15171/ijhpm.2016.157
Abstract
A recent article by Sol Benatar calls on the global health community to reassess its approach to twin crises of global poverty and climate change. I build on his article by challenging mainstream narratives that claim satisfactory progress in efforts to reduce poverty and improve health for all, and arguing that any eradication of poverty that is consistent with environmental sustainability will require a more explicit emphasis on the redistribution of power and wealth. I suggest that the global health community has been largely socialised into accepting that progress and future solutions can be attained through more neoliberal development, technological advancement and philanthropic endeavour and that a more critical global health is required. I propose three steps that the global health community should take: first, create more space for the social, political and political sciences within global health; second, be more prepared to act politically and challenge power; and third, do more to bridge the global-local divide in recognition of the fact that progressive change requires mobilisation from the bottom-up in conjunction with top-down policy and legislative change.
Keywords
Politics
Power
Poverty
Global Health
Subjects
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International Journal of Health Policy and Management
Volume 6, Issue 9
2017
Pages 539-541

  • Received Date 21 November 2016
  • Revised Date 03 January 2017
  • Accepted Date 31 December 2016
  • First Published Date 01 September 2017
  • Published Date 01 September 2017