A new governance space for health

Area of Science:

• Global Health
• Public Health Policy
• International Relations

Background:

• Global health encompasses health issues transcending national borders, necessitating coordinated international action.
• Governance in global health operates across three distinct political spaces: global health governance, global governance for health, and governance for global health.
• The increasing complexity of global health challenges demands a nuanced understanding of these governance structures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the three political spaces of governance in the global public health domain.
• To emphasize the importance of managing the interface between these spaces for advancing the global health agenda.
• To highlight the role of various state and non-state actors in global health.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis of governance structures in global health.
• Examination of the definitions and scopes of global health governance, global governance for health, and governance for global health.
• Review of actor involvement and implications for legitimacy, accountability, and transparency.

Main Results:

• Global health governance involves explicit health mandates (e.g., WHO).
• Global governance for health impacts health directly/indirectly (e.g., UN, WTO).
• Governance for global health involves national/regional mechanisms and club strategies (e.g., BRICS).

Conclusions:

• Managing the interface between the three governance spaces is critical for global public health.
• The involvement of diverse state and non-state actors is standard, raising issues of legitimacy, accountability, and transparency.
• Transnational collaboration is essential for producing global public goods for health and ensuring a stable global public health domain.