Access to reliable, accurate, and up-to-date health information is a crucial component of global population health. Like other health-harming industries, the alcohol industry is known to provide misinformation to the public, including on alcohol, pregnancy, and infant health. It is unknown whether industry information changes following independent public health analysis. We...
Multistakeholderism as a norm stating that global public issues should be addressed by all those who affect or are affected by this issue, has become increasingly institutionalised in global governance, including the United Nations (UN) system. Despite an increasing body of evidence showing the risks of corporate capture of multistakeholder governance (MSG) and its related...
Public-private partnerships have the potential to advance solutions to complex dilemmas such as the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases. Knowledge creation, trust, and social capital among partners – encapsulated in the term “connective tissue” – are key considerations for the cohesion and sustainability of multisectoral collaborative efforts in global health. A...
The Gaza Strip, characterized by its dense population and persistent geopolitical instability, has experienced decades of armed conflict, resulting in systematic healthcare infrastructure deterioration. The healthcare delivery system has been collapsed by Israeli military operations, creating cascading effects that extend beyond regional boundaries. The medical facilities have...
Public health crises are governed not only through policies but also through talk. Government press conferences are ritualized arenas where authorities construct meaning, claim competence, and manage domestic and international legitimacy. China’s abrupt transition from “zero‑COVID” to a strategy of coexistence provides a critical case for examining how transnational pressures...
Latin America is distinguished by diverse regulatory frameworks and evolving dietary patterns, including the weakening of traditional diets and the increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs). Predominantly produced by transnational corporations, UPFs rely heavily on food additives to achieve desirable sensory properties (e.g., flavor, color), ensure food safety, and...
The shortage of nurses poses a growing threat to global healthcare quality, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Out-flow of nurses from these regions to developed countries exacerbates the global imbalance in nursing resources. However, some nurses decide to return home after gaining experience abroad. Understanding their motivations, challenges, and opportunities...
The fast-food industry has transformed substantially in recent decades – from diverse, locally rooted providers into a globalised, and increasingly corporate-led industry. Corporate fast-food retailers (FFRs) represent a key retail channel through which both ultra-processed foods and intensively produced animal source foods are consumed and normalised within corporate-industrial...
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives are part of a suite of marketing and promotional strategies used by industries whose products and/or practices may be harmful to health and equity. These include the tobacco, alcohol, gambling, fossil fuel and pharmaceutical industries. CSR initiatives have included support for gender equity and empowerment initiatives, such as...
Chronic underfunding of pandemic preparedness remains a critical weakness in global health security. Without sustained, strategic investment, the world risks repeating the reactive approaches of past crises. This study examines the modes of COVID-19 aid delivered by the Chinese government across African countries and regions, offering a nuanced understanding of China’s...
Brazil faces challenges in ensuring equitable access to prescription drugs for its population. Socioeconomic disparities contribute to health inequalities, impacting access to health care services, including medicines. Brazil’s Unified Health System aims to provide universal health care coverage, but only 30·5% of people obtain all of their prescribed medications through public...
Migration is a significant economic phenomenon in developing countries, and remittances from migrant workers have been recognized as a crucial source of income for households. This study examines the impact of different types of migration—short-term versus long-term and labor-related versus non-labor-related migration—on household nutritional consumption in Vietnam. Using panel...
Despite strong evidence supporting breastfeeding’s benefits for maternal and child health, breastfeeding rates (e.g. any breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months etc.) in China are still suboptimal. The pervasive marketing of breast-milk substitutes (BMS) plays a significant role. Yet research on BMS marketing—especially in China—is scarce, and a clear...
In sub-Saharan Africa, public hospitals should play a key role in providing quality, affordable health care and contribute to robust health systems, particularly in war-torn contexts. In Mali, a multidimensional crisis has had a severe impact on the health of the people and on the overall health infrastructure and its capacity to respond to the crisis. Public hospitals suffer...
TB, HIV, and AMR are closely related global health challenges. In the context of limited global health funds and insufficient resources, an integrated tuberculosis, HIV and antimicrobial resistance prevention and control method will play an important role in the optimization of resources and cost-effectiveness. This study aims to analyze the degree of policy integration for...
Professional health associations increasingly serve as vital transnational actors in responding to global public health emergencies and shaping health system resilience. Their cross-border collaboration becomes especially critical in conflict-affected settings, where local infrastructure is overwhelmed, and international expertise, advocacy, and solidarity can bridge urgent gaps...
The prevention of health goods smuggling requires the involvement of stakeholders from various sectors, including the executive, judicial, and legislative bodies. This may increase numerous challenges in designing, formulating, implementing, and evaluating any corrective interventions. The aim of this study is therefore to identify and analyze the network of stakeholders and...
In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the commercial interests of the food industry dominate the food environment, jeopardising current efforts to improve the health and nutrition of the population. This study aims to document action strategies, mechanisms and practices (ASMP) of corporate political activity (CPA) employed by the food industry to obstruct public health, food...
Following three years of complex negotiations, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body announced consensus among Member States on 16 April 2025, leading to the adoption of the Pandemic Accord at the Seventy-Eighth World Health Assembly on 19 May 2025. The accord aims to address the systemic inequities and failures exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic by enhancing early detection and...
Public-private partnerships are a key strategy in many middle-income countries to promote universal access to quality health care and reduce inequities. In maternity care, addressing inappropriate patterns of care within the private sector is essential for these partnerships to succeed. Caesarean rates are rising globally, four of the five countries with the highest caesarean...
Beginning in 1996, Purdue Pharmaceuticals (Purdue) knowingly mislabeled and mass marketed OxyContin (oxycodone), an opioid painkiller, catalyzing the opioid crisis which has been responsible for more than 600 000 deaths in and beyond North America. This case is an extreme example of how transnational pharmaceutical companies prioritize shareholder profits over public wellbeing...
The right to health for all individuals, including refugees, is recognized as one of the most fundamental human rights. However, refugees continue to face numerous barriers in accessing healthcare services. Iran has not yet achieved full coverage despite implementing a health insurance scheme for refugees. Therefore, this study aims to identify the contextual factors influencing...
National policies are essential for countries to adapt to the negative health impacts of climate change. Children are disproportionately affected by these impacts and must be at the heart of adaptation policies to address their vulnerabilities. Adaptation commitments worldwide are integrated into national adaptation plans, nationally determined contributions, national...
On January 20, 2025, the United States initiated its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) through an executive order, citing concerns over the organization’s handling of global health crises, political influences, and financial inequities. This commentary explores the historical context of the U.S.-WHO relationship, provides an analysis of the justifications for...
During the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the South Korean government initiated the Global Vaccine Hub Project (GVHP) purportedly to address global vaccine inequality. This study analyzes the strategies and underlying epistemology of GVHP through the perspective of global governmentality. Critical Discourse Study (CDS) approaches were used to identify governmental...