Global public health: revisiting healthy public policy at the global level

Abstract

Globalization is increasingly growing into a network of interdependent and interconnected nations people capital and information that challenges the internal sovereignty of nation states. Health care policy which is protected by the nation state loses its sovereignty over policies related to health determinants. Two trends have been seen in the international health cooperation: significant increase in the players in the international health arena and the subtle but systemic erosion of internal sovereignty. Therefore the global public health should fill the government gap on health issues and development processes that are independent of territory and must try to balance the impact of globalization on internal health sovereignty. By the 21st century a new organizational form of governance will create a network that includes nongovernmental organizations and the private sector; newer forms of joint decision-making will emerge to collectively operationalize internal sovereignty at the global level. A move towards global public health must overcome three challenges: 1) the framing of health as a valued global public good; 2) the response to globalization through a new inclusive system of global health governance; 3) the development of global regimes codes of conduct and mechanisms of accountability in the aim of improved global health. Public health schools must be at the forefront in the analysis of developments planning of public health patchworks and networks and new instrument and mechanism proposal.