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TMD DISCUSSION PAPER NO. 108

GLOBALIZING HEALTH BENEFITS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Eugenio D?az-Bonilla Julie Babinard

Per Pinstrup-Andersen Marcelle Thomas

International Food Policy Research Institute

Trade and Macroeconomics Division International Food Policy Research Institute

2033 K Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20006, U.S.A.

December 2002

TMD Discussion Papers contain preliminary material and research results, and are circulated prior to a full peer review in order to stimulate discussion and critical comment. It is expected that most Discussion Papers will eventually be published in some other form, and that their content may also be revised. This paper is available at

GLOBALIZING HEALTH BENEFITS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Eugenio D?az-Bonilla Julie Babinard

Per Pinstrup-Andersen Marcelle Thomas

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

December 2002

This paper derived from a background paper prepared for the Working Group 4 (WG4) of the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health (CMH), World Health Organization. A shorter version was also presented at the workshop "Interfaces of Developing Countries' Strategies with Global Governance. Conflicts and Cooperation in the Health Sector," held on 7th-8th June 2002, in Hamburg, Germany

ABSTRACT

For the health community, globalization offers opportunities but also poses important challenges. Dramatic progress has been made in the area of health over the past forty years; however, improvements have been unequally distributed across regions. Developing countries share a disproportionate burden of avoidable mortality and disability, primarily attributable to preventable infectious diseases, malnutrition, and complications of childbirth.

Globalization affects global health, which in turn may improve or worsen the health of the poor in developing countries. This paper reviews the different meanings of globalization and indicators for some of its components. Using a simple framework, it examines the channels, which links globalization and health outcomes and identifies among them five main pathways. The first two pathways connect globalization with general outcomes on the economy and the government of developing countries, which affect the global health situation. The last three connect directly globalization with health, through its effect on institutions, nutrition, and the environment. In conclusion, this paper presents some policy and institutional responses that seek to reduce the negative and enhance the positive effects of globalization on health in developing countries.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 1 II. WHAT IS GLOBALIZATION AND HOW IT MAY AFFECT HEALTH? ........................ 3

A. Meaning and indicators of globalization............................................................................. 3 B. How does globalization affect health outcomes? ............................................................... 6 III. GLOBALIZATION, GROWTH, AND POVERTY .......................................................... 8 A. Background ......................................................................................................................... 8 B. Trends in growth, poverty and inequality ........................................................................... 9 C. The impact of globalization on growth, poverty, and inequality...................................... 11 D. Summing up ...................................................................................................................... 14 IV. DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE........................................................................... 15 A. Should we worry about democracy and governance in a globalized world?.................... 15 B. National dimensions.......................................................................................................... 16 C. International perspectives ................................................................................................ 19 V. GLOBALIZATION AND HEALTH SYSTEMS ................................................................ 22 A. Conceptual framework and differentiated conditions....................................................... 22 B. Globalization and changes in the nature of the health burden and health markets........... 23 VI. GLOBALIZATION, FOOD SECURITY, AND NUTRITION ...................................... 25 A. Background ....................................................................................................................... 25 B. Food security and globalization ........................................................................................ 28 C. New challenges in food safety .......................................................................................... 31 D. Globalization and shifts in diets........................................................................................ 34 VII. GLOBALIZATION AND OTHER HEALTH-RELATED DEVELOPMENTS............. 35 A. Globalization, gender and health ...................................................................................... 36 B. War and violence .............................................................................................................. 38 C. International spread of disease.......................................................................................... 39 D. Global Environment.......................................................................................................... 41 VIII. SHAPING GLOBALIZATION TO IMPROVE HEALTH ............................................. 43 References..................................................................................................................................... 47

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