Global Health Governance: Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the Doha Declaration, and Democratisation

Belinda Townsend, Erik Martin, Hans Löfgren and Evelyne De Leeuw
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Belinda Townsend: School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway VIC 3125, Burwood, Australia
Erik Martin: School of Medicine, Deakin University, 75 Pigdons Road VIC, 3216, Waurn Ponds, Australia
Hans Löfgren: School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway VIC 3125, Burwood, Australia
Evelyne De Leeuw: School of Medicine, Deakin University, 75 Pigdons Road VIC, 3216, Waurn Ponds, Australia

Administrative Sciences, 2012, vol. 2, issue 2, 1-17

Abstract: Global public health agreements are heralded as a success for the affirmation of the right to health within a complex and contested political landscape. However, the practical implementation of such agreements at the national level is often overlooked. This article outlines two radically different global health agreements: The Doha Declaration on the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement and Public Health; and the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). We identify significant challenges in their implementation, particularly for low and middle income countries. Shifts in the policy network constellations around these two agreements have allowed for some positive influence by civil society. Yet industry influence at the national level constrains effective implementation and those affected by these policies have largely been left on the periphery. The broader provisions of these two agreements have been watered down by vested interests and donor conditions. We advocate for both activist and academic actors to play a significant role in highlighting the consequences of these power asymmetries. Deliberative democracy may be the key to addressing these challenges in a way that empowers those presently excluded from effective participation in the policy process.

Keywords: global health governance; deliberative democracy; implementation; international public health policy; FCTC; TRIPS; Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L M M0 M1 M10 M11 M12 M14 M15 M16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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