The Construction and Reconstruction of Global Health Governance System under Public Health Emergencies

Abstract

A series of public health crisis disrupted throughout the 21st Century, bringing global health governance under spotlight and consequently challenging its existing structure. Analysing based on Zurn’s three layers of the global political system that consist of normative principles, political institutions and the interactions between authorities, the article highlights that the current global health governance structure is under pressure for restructuring and reforming. The article argues that the key to enhancing international cooperation in combating public health crisis, is to reform the global health governance from its existing monopolist power structure to a multilateral governance model; and the normative principles should be adapted for regulating measures for combating public health emergencies, and their enforcement capacity should be enhanced. The article proposes that the World Health Organisation (WHO) is in need of reshaping the organisation by reducing its image as a political authority, while strengthening its role as a professional and independent global health authority, competent to lead in combating global public health crisis. Actors, such as non-government organisations and private corporations should also be given legitimate and institutionalised roles to the largest extent in the global health governance.