Controversies In International Health

Numerous controversies have marked the evolution of modern public health. The use of quarantines to prevent the spread of certain infectious diseases, mass campaigns of immunization, development of modern contraceptives, and the use of seatbelts to prevent car accidents, to name but a few, are examples that have spurred heated debates in the global public health arena.

Despite the major improvements in science and technology in the 21st century, health improvements are unevenly distributed with many countries in the world showing little, uneven, or no progress at all. Understanding why such health disparities have arisen and persist requires us not only to analyze how health systems are organized, but also to consider broader economic, social and political issues that impede the achievement of health and wellbeing and influence living conditions of populations around the world.
Central to the inherent complexity of the issues at hand is the analysis of the policy making process, i.e. how issues get on to the policy agenda, who decides and why certain programmes are implemented or not.

Policies are the results of interactions among different stakeholders (organizations, groups, networks or individuals) who share certain beliefs about which courses of action should be taken. The sum of these interactions forms what we call the policy process, which itself takes place in a wider social and political context. The distribution of power, the range of actors involved, their interests, and the formal and informal arrangements that govern the interactions among them are important factors to consider.

Through this course, students will be introduced to contemporary issues and controversies in international health. In addition to public and international controversies, we will also look at various public health issues usually kept secret from public scrutiny (e.g. the strategies of the tobacco industry) or which are particularly sensitive (e.g. corruption in the health sector). Various analytical frameworks will be presented to assist students in a critical analysis the issues being covered.

Course Objectives:
× To expose students to a variety of controversies in international health
× To assist students in using critical thinking to analyze international health issues
× To introduce students to various health policy analytic frameworks and tools
× To expose students to various international health organizations