The phenomenon of globalization and its homogenizing effects on the policies of developing countries is receiving increasing scholarly attention across a variety of policy sectors. The study of globalization's effect on public health policy-making, however, lags behind these other sectors.
The paper investigates the creation and implementation of infectious disease control policy over the past two decades in the ten nation-states of the World Health Organization's South-East Asian Region. The paper presents historical case studies of three infectious diseases - polio, tuberculosis and malaria. It demonstrates an increasing convergence in the strategies used and implementation modes employed by states to fight each disease and to promote preventative behaviors.
Variance continues to exist, a reflection of differing disease patterns, cultural contexts, political structures and socioeconomic situations. Nevertheless, what increasingly stands out are not the differences, but the similarities. The convergence is a function of the increasing influence of international organizations such as the World Bank and the World Health Organization on domestic health policy-making. It is also a function of a diffusion process: the creation of transnational communities of medical experts from multiple countries who gather repeatedly at international forums and share health policy ideas, bringing these back to their home nation-states, where they get adopted.
Learning Objectives: Participants will identify the convergence of strategies in developing countries to fight infectious disease and promote prevention behaviors.
Keywords: International Health, Prevention
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.