International Health and Aid Policies
The Need for Alternatives

Using international case studies to critique recent health and aid policies, this book presents strategies to create fairer health services.

Jean-Pierre Unger (Author), Pierre De Paepe (Author), Kasturi Sen (Author), Werner Soors (Author)

9780521174268, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 23 September 2010

314 pages, 5 b/w illus. 20 tables
23.1 x 15.5 x 1.5 cm, 0.54 kg

'This book comes at a time of a highly needed reform in the Global Health Governance and the International Health Aid Architecture. The attention to health has been enhanced in global fora and health aid has tripled in the last decade. We all share responsibility and the challenge to address the highly fragmented health landscape. The EU is developing a new policy framework aimed at greater equity and coherence in the EU role in Global Health. The agreed global commitment to universal coverage rescuing the Alma-Ata principles and applying the principles of partnership and ownership to health in development aid, are clear opportunities. The reflections of this book will be a valuable reference for our debate and the enhanced EU role in the global health challenges.' Juan Garay, Public Health Physician, Health Team coordinator, DG Development, European Commission

International health and aid policies of the past two decades have had a major impact on the delivery of care in low and middle-income countries. This book argues that these policies have often failed to achieve their main aims, and have in fact contributed to restricted access to family medicine and hospital care. Presenting detailed evidence, and illustrated by case studies, this book describes how international health policies to date have largely resulted in expensive health care for the rich, and disjointed and ineffective services for the poor. As a result, large segments of the population world-wide continue to suffer from unnecessary casualties, pain and impoverishment. International Health and Aid Policies arms health professionals, researchers and policy makers with strategies that will enable them to bridge the gaps between public health, medicine and health policy in order to support robust, comprehensive and accessible health care systems in any political environment.

Introduction: overview and purpose
Part I. Aspects of International Health Policies: 1. Donor led policies: analysis of an underlying doctrine
2. The Achilles heel of international health policies in low and middle income countries
Part II. The Failure of the Aid Paradigm: Poor Disease Control in Developing Countries: 3. Why do disease control programs require patients in publicly-oriented services to succeed in delivering? The case of malaria control in Mali
4. How do disease control programs damage health care delivery in developing countries?
5. Privatization (PPM-DOTS) strategy for tuberculosis control: how evidence based is it?
Part III. International Health Policies and their Impact on Access to Health Care in Low and Middle Income Countries: Some Recent Experiences from Latin America: 6. Costa Rica: achievements of a heterodox health policy
7. Colombia: in-vivo test of health sector privatization
8. Chile's neo liberal health reforms: an assessment and a critique
Part IV. Determinants and Implications of New Liberal Health Policies: the Case of India, China and the Lebanon: 9. Political and economic determinants of health: the case of India
10. An economic insight into health care in six Chinese counties: equity in crisis
11. Health care financing and delivery in the context of conflict and crisis: the Lebanon
Part V. Principles for Publicly-Oriented Health Care Policies, Planning, Management and Delivery: 12. Paradigm shifts
Section 1. The need to alter health systems missions
Section 2. The need to change public health methods
13. Principles for an alternative social and democratic health policy
14. Quality standards for health care delivery and management in publicly-oriented health services
15. Principles of publicly-oriented health planning
16. A code of good practice for the management of disease control programs
Part VI. Strategies to Develop Publicly-Oriented Health Systems and Services: 17. Person-centered care in LIC/MIC publicly-oriented services
18. Improving access
Section 1. Access to health care (Ecuador)
Section 2. Access to drugs (Senegal)
19. Non-managed care techniques to improve clinical decision making
Section 1. Versatile techniques
Section 2. Interface flow-process audit
20. Reorienting academic missions: how can public health departments best support access to good quality comprehensive health care?
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Health systems & services [MBP], Epidemiology & medical statistics [MBNS], Personal & public health [MBNH]