GHW4: Contents, upcoming launches, where to buy the book

With the world still battling the Ebola outbreak, the evidence of a clear link between the inability of affected countries to deal with the crisis and the collapse of public health systems is becoming stronger. Extreme poverty in the affected region, engendered by neo-liberal policies, further created the conditions for the rapid spread of the epidemic. This is the context that informs the contents of the 2014 Global Health Watch (GHW) report that was released on 13 November 2014.

What is the Global Health Watch?

Published by Zed Books and now in its fourth edition, the GHW is widely perceived as the definitive voice for an alternative discourse on health. GHW4 integrates rigorous analysis, alternative proposals and stories of struggles and change to present a compelling case for the imperative to work for a radical transformation of the way we approach actions and policies on health. It is designed to question present policies on health and to propose alternatives through new analysis.

Who is involved in the GHW4?

GHW4 was coordinated by the People’s Health Movement, Asociacion Latino-americana de Medicina Social, Health Action International, Medico International, Third World Network and Medact.

What does GHW4 cover?

With contributions from more than 80 experts from across the globe, GHW4 addresses key issues in the health sector. Through its five sections, it covers diverse issues related to health systems and the range of social, economic, political and environmental determinants of health. GHW4 locates decisions and choices that impact on health in the structure of global power relations and economic governance and is complemented by the ' Watching' section that scrutinises global processes and institutions. The final section on 'Alternatives, Action and Change', documents inspiring stories of struggles and actions for change.

See a comment on the book here: Ron Labonte, on Healthy Policies blog site:
Global Health Watch 4: Critique and Hope for a Healthier World

We call upon all progressive health and development movements and NGOs to disseminate the evidence and analysis in GHW4.

Contents of GHW4

Section A: The global political and economic architecture

A1 The health crises of neoliberal globalization 
A2 Fiscal policies in Europe in the wake of the economic crisis: implications for health 
A3 Social struggle, progressive governments, and health in Latin America 
A4 After the Arab Spring 

Section B: Health systems: current issues and debates

B1 The current discourse on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) 
B2 The National Health Service (NHS): prey to neoliberal lust for markets 
B3 Reform of the Mexican healthcare system: the untold story 
B4 Brazil: the rocky road to a universal healthcare system
B5 South Africa: building or destroying health systems? 
B6 The right to health in Tunisia 
B7 The revival of community health workers in national health systems 
B8 The crisis of maternal and reproductive health 
B9 The global health workforce crisis 
B10 The politics and landscape of medical devices in a global market 

Section C: Beyond healthcare

C1 Social protection: reimagining development 
C2 Non-communicable diseases: is big business hijacking the debate? 
C3 Nutrition and food sovereignty 
C4 Breaking free from gender-based violence 
C5 Talking shit: is Community Led Total Sanitation empowering or divisive? 
C6 Extractive industries and health

Section D: Watching

D1 WHO reform: for what purpose?
D2 A new 'business model' for NGOs? 
D3 Private sector influence on public health policy 
D4 The TRIPS agreement: two decades of failed 
promises
D5 Cholera epidemic in Haiti 
D6 The International Finance Corporation's 'Health in Africa' initiative 
D7 The ethical cost of offshoring clinical trials

Section E: Resistance, actions and change

E1 Reframing health in Bolivia around the concept of 'living well' 
E2 Social change in El Salvador and the health sector 
E3 Venezuela: the impact on health of social change
E4 Colombia: social struggles against the commodification of health
E5 Peru: social movement against neoliberal reforms
E6 Struggles for health in Europe
E7 The struggle against a destructive mining project in Greece
E8 The Right to Food campaign in India
E9 Aboriginal community-controlled health services in Australia

Will there be a launch close to my place?

Launches are already planned in more than 15 cities across the globe. You can see a short-list below. If there is no launch in your city yet, why not organise one!

Past and Up coming Launches:

  • London, organsied by Medact on 15 November 2014 during the Medact Forum: Health in Action

  • Oslo, University of Oslo on 17 November 2014;

  • Rome, in the side lines of the Second International Conference on Nutrition on 17 November 2014;

  • Perugia, Italy, during the event Cultura e Salute on 18 November 2014;

  • Brussels, organized by the Platform for Action on Health and Solidarity on 20 November 2014;

  • San Salvador, El Salvador, organised by ALAMES in the sidelines of the ALAMES Congress, 22 to 24 November 2014;

  • Marrakesh, in the side lines of the Human Rights World Forum, from 27 to 30 November;

  • Lusaka, Zambia, at the University of Lusaka on 2 December;

  • Bangalore, India, at the National Bioethics Conference on 12 December;

  • Sanskatoon, Canada on 29 January 2015;

  • Manila, Philippines, at the University College of the Philippines on 13 February 2015, see details here;

  • Seattle, USA, co-organised by Health Alliance International, Doctors for Global Health, UW Department of Global Health, and the People’s Health Movement at the University of Washington on 25 February 2015, see event page here;

  • Colombo, Sri Lanka, organised by PHM Sri Lanka, on 25 February 2015; 

  • Vancouver, Canada, organised by University of British Columbia (UBC), Simon Fraser University (SFU), Alliance for People’s Health (APH), and Ustawi Health Research Association (UHRA) at Simon Fraser University on 26 February 2015, see event poster here;

  • Toronto, Canada, University of Toronto, Scarborough on 3 March 2015, see event poster here;

  • Istanbul, Turquie, organised by PHM Turquie on 6 March 2015;

  • New York, USA, organised by Haiti Liberte on 22 March 2015;

  • Mexico City, at the Faculty of Medicine of the National University of Mexico on 23 March 2015 at 11.30am local time (17.30 UTC). The launch will be video conferenced. To see the launch, enter here, and look for the link under the section "Avisos";

  • Adelaide, Australia, at the Southgate Institute for Health, Society & Equity on 23 April 2015 at 12.45pm, see the flyer here;

  • Kampala, Uganda, organised by PHM Uganda in collaboration with Pro-biodiversity Conservationists on 24 April 2015;

  • Edmonton, Canada, at the University of Alberta on 14 May 2015, see the invitation here;

  • Geneva, Switzerland, on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly on 20 May 2015, see invitation here and report here;

  • New Delhi, India, organised by Jan Swasthya Abhiyan on 7 June 2015;

  • Porto Alegre, Brasil, on 29 June 2015, see details here;

  • Accra, Ghana, organised by PHM Ghana on 27 August 2015;

  • Harare, Zimbabwe, organised by PHM Zimbabwe on 22 October 2015 at the National Conference of the Community Working Group on Health.

We invite you to consider launching the GHW4 in your region. For this purpose you can download ‘launch kits’ below and write to us to request that we send you free books (shipping charges will be borne by the event organisers).

What is included in the launch kit?

Whom to contact for all this?

For more information contact Susana Barria <sbarria[at]phmovement.org> or Amit Sengupta <asengupta[at]phmovement.org>.

Where to buy the book?

The book will be available for sale online as well as in book stores. This year for the first time, an e-reader version is also available. For more information, visit <http://zedbooks.co.uk/node/17814> and <www.hesperian.org> (for North America only).

If you think the Global Health Watch should be supported, consider being part of the Global Solidairty Network of the People's Health Movement. For any questions regarding the GSN, please contact Hani Serag, at hserag[at]phmovement.org, and Anneleen De Keukelaere, at anneleen[at]phmovement.org.