International Mechanisms In The Global Public Health Governance

Newly emerging and reemerging infectious diseases as AIDS, H1N1 Flu and SARS as well as potential biological terrorist attack pose serious threats to global public health security in the context of globalization. The international community has increasingly become interdependent in the arena of public health security. These health threats have overwhelming implications for human security, national security, international security and global security as well, which shows that public health issues have been "securitized". Globalization necessitates global governance. Similarly, global governance is all the more relevant in the context of the globalization of "securitized" public health issues i.e. global public health governance is urgently needed.The "externality" effects of public health issues show that public health security is a kind of global public goods. The efficiency of global public health governance is dependent on the degree to which global public goods for health are provided. Global public health governance entails the involvement of various actors, among which international institutions concerning public health play an irreplaceable role. Those international institutions cut cross such policy areas as development, trade, security, and human rights and become important players in the provision of global public goods for health. To explore the underpinning reasons for the under-provision of global public goods for health, it is necessary to analyze the part played by (and the drawbacks) of such international institutions as the WHO, the WTO, BWC, and international human rights regimes in the provision of global public goods for health. Further, institutional designs and innovations are needed so as to enhance global public health governance. This study evaluates the definition of global public health governance initially. The 'securitization theory' identified with the Copenhagen School is applied to analyze the securitization of global public health issues, which shows the urgency and necessity of global public health governance. In the light of the theory of global public goods, the study proves that public health security is a form of global public goods. The approach to global public health governance lies in the provision of global public goods for health.Given that the WHO, the WTO, BWC, and the international human rights regime are pivotal providers of global public goods for health, this study tries to find and analyse factors that constrain the role of these international institutions as the providers of global public goods for health. It is concluded that the poor performance of these institutions in the provision of global public goods for health results from their lack of compliance with "the triangle of publicness" i.e. these international institutions fail to realize "publicness" in decision-making and distribution of benefits in global public health governance. The prime reason for the failure of these institutions is that they are troubled with "democracy deficit" caused by power politics, the absence of compulsory dispute-settling procedure in these institutions, economic interest-driven priority of every nation-state, and the widening public health gap between the North and the South. This study also touches upon the role played by China in global public health governance. The SARS crisis of 2003 is interrogated as a case study to explore what is problematic in China's public health diplomacy.