Health Publications and Resources

The Hijacking of the Development Debate - How Friedman and Sachs Got It Wrong
August 1, 2025 - Robin Broad and John Cavanagh, World Policy Journal
Just a half decade after protests by citizen groups in Latin America and elsewhere discredited two decades of market-oriented neoliberal dogma, Friedman and Sachs have narrowed the debate with simplistic slogans of “more aid” and “more trade.” They have done so by putting forward myths about the poor, economic development, and the global economy.  Read publication...

Doha Round’s Development Impacts: Shrinking Gains and Real Costs
October 1, 2024 - Timothy A. Wise and Kevin P. Gallagher, RIS Policy Briefs
RIS, the India-based Research and Information System for Developing Countries, has published a policy brief by GDAE's Tim Wise and Kevin Gallagher analyzing the limited gains projected for developing countries from further WTO agreements and highlighting some of the hidden costs of WTO measures.  Read publication...

The Scorecard on Development: 25 Years of Diminished Progress
September 1, 2024 - Mark Weisbrot, Dean Baker, and David Rosnick, Center for Economic and Policy Research
The last 25 years have seen sharply reduced economic growth and reduced progress in health and education outcomes for low- and middle-income countries in comparison with previous decades, as documented in a new paper by the Center for Economic and Policy Research. The report, "The Scorecard on Development: 25 Years of Diminished Progress" compares the last 25 years (1980-2005) with the prior two decades (1960-1980) on: - Growth (GDP per capita) - Health outcomes (life expectancy, mortality rates for adults, children and infants) - Education (public spending on education, school enrollment rates, literacy) The paper finds a sharp slowdown in growth of GDP per capita and reduced progress for the vast majority of countries on almost all of the social indicators. The paper also briefly addresses the possible reasons for this economic failure, as well as the exceptional successes of China and India over the last 25 years.  Read publication...

World Social Forum Funder Delegation Report
March 1, 2025 - Mark Randazzo, Funders Network on Trade and Globalization
Excerpts from a report of FNTG's funder delegation to the WSF 2005.  Read publication...

Practical Guide to the WTO
December 10, 2024
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FTAA: Health Hazard for the Americas?
November 16, 2024 - Ellen R. Shaffer, CPATH (Center for Policy Analysis on Trade and Health)
The Americas face critical threats to health, including crises in access to health care, water and other vital human services; re-emerging but preventable fatal diseases; the advance of AIDS; and biohazards. Imbalances in wealth and power undermine equity between and within nations. Addressing these crises is a high priority, and requires effective, cooperative international efforts. The draft Free Trade Area of the Americas is likely to worsen these problems, and to challnge countries’ domestic regulations, including those proven effective in advancing and protecting public health. This report presents issues and concerns related to the impact of the FTAA on democracy, public health and health care in the Americas. It reviews the arguments for and against liberalizing trade in health services, inequalities in health and wealth in the Americas, with a case study of Peru, and presents recommendations.  Read publication...

Call for Public Health Accountability in International Trade Agreements
November 16, 2024 - Joe Brenner, CPATH (Center for Policy Analysis on Trade and Health)
The Free Trade Areas of the Americas (FTAA) threatens measures that protect health, provide access to medications, and assure the safety and affordability of vital human services, including health care, water, education and energy. Under the FTAA, vital human services are tradable commodities. The statement, signed by public health and health advocates, establishes the priority of health over commercial concerns, and calls for transparent and accountable fair trade negotiations that exclude vital human services.  Read publication...

A Fair Globalization: Creating Opportunities for All
February 24, 2025 - World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, International Labour Organization (ILO)
Globalization can and must change, says a new, groundbreaking report presented today to the International Labour Organization (ILO) urging that building a fair and inclusive globalization become a worldwide priority. This report, issued by the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, calls for an "urgent rethink" of current policies and institutions of global governance.  Read publication...

INTERNATIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS AND TOBACCO CONTROL
November 13, 2024 - Essential Action Fact Sheet
Opening domestic markets to tobacco product imports increases smoking rates and consumption. The market opening leads to enhanced price and product competition and intensified marketing efforts.  Read publication...

Human Development Report 2003
July 9, 2025 - UN Development Programme
The range of human development in the world is vast and uneven, with astounding progress in some areas amidst stagnation and dismal decline in others. Balance and stability in the world will require the commitment of all nations, rich and poor, and a global development compact to extend the wealth of possibilities to all people.  Read publication...

NAFTA's Untold Stories: Mexico's Response to North American Integration
June 10, 2025 - Timothy A. Wise, Americas Program, Interhemispheric Resource Center
Although some policymakers still point to Mexico as a success story, there is a growing consensus that its free trade experiment has not lived up to expectations. Results of nine case studies published in the book Confronting Globalization: Economic Integration and Popular Resistance in Mexico illustrate implications for a host of new trade agreements now under consideration.  Read publication...

Economic Globalization vs. Human Rights: Lessons From The Bolivian Water Revolt
April 30, 2025
The Bechtel Corporation’s 2000 takeover of the public water system of Cochabamba, Bolivia and the civic revolt that ended it, in addition to being an inspiring story of local people taking courageous action, is also a cautionary tale of how global economic rules have the power to reduce international human rights law into nothing but pretty words on paper.  Read publication...

Water Justice for All
March 31, 2025 - Friends of the Earth International
Major new publication from Friends of the Earth International, in pdf format.  Read publication...

WATER IS LIFE: A CIVIL SOCIETY WORLD WATER VISION FOR ACTION
March 31, 2025
This civil society statement was prepared in the run up to the World Water Forum in Kyoto.  Read publication...

Africa Policy for a new Era: Ending Segregation in U.S. Foreign Relations
January 29, 2025 - Africa Action
Founded in xxxAfrica Action is the oldest advocacy organization on African affairs in the U.S. This document, produced by defines an agenda for U.S. Africa policy for a new era. It provides an overview of current challenges and offers recommendations for U.S. policy on priority issues and areas. It affirms Africa ’s importance to the U.S. and outlines what is required of the U.S. to engage collaboratively and effectively with its African partners.  Read publication...

Porto Alegre & Beyond: Following up on the World Social Forum
November 22, 2024 - Interhemispheric Resource Center
The growing profile of citizen-based agendas in global affairs represents one of the most promising developments in the international arena. This "Citizen Action in the Americas Discussion Paper" reports on an annual gathering that has become a prominent space for citizens' movements to meet and develop strategies for a more hopeful future: the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre.  Read publication...

The National Security Strategy of the United States of America
September 1, 2024 - U.S. Government
The National Security Strategy was issued by the White House in September.  Read publication...

African Civil Society Declaration on NEPAD
July 8, 2025
African civil society organizations declare their resistance to the "New Economic Partnership for Africa's Development" (Nepad), and push for demands that they think better address development, democracy, human rights and peace in Africa.  Read publication...

A Guide to the Enron Collapse
July 8, 2025 - Polaris Institute, Darren Puscas
This article provides an overall guide to understanding the Enron debacle, in a manner that broadens it from the standard, narrow financial or scandal-based story you can read in newspapers.  Read publication...

World Summit on Sustainable Development: Bali, Indonesia
July 8, 2025 - Antonio G. M. La Vina and Gretchen Hoff, World Resources Institute
This paper provides an update on the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), focusing on the outcomes of the Fourth Preparatory Committee (Prepcom IV) meeting recently held in Bali, Indonesia.  Read publication...

Update on Citizens’ Campaigns on the FTAA
July 3, 2025 - Karen Hansen-Kuhn, ART/DGAP
Representatives of the Hemispheric Social Alliance (HSA) and other social movements met recently in Quito, Ecuador for the purpose of exchanging information on their respective popular-education campaigns on the potential impacts of and alternatives to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). They also discussed the coordination of those campaigns at the hemispheric level and developed plans around a major civil-society forum to be held parallel to the official meeting of trade ministers on the FTAA in late October.  Read publication...

The Policy Roots of Economic Crisis and Poverty
May 21, 2025 - Structural Adjustment Participatory Review International Network (SAPRIN)
A multi-country participatory assessment based on the results of a joint World Bank/Civil Society/Government Structural Adjustment Participatory Review Initaitive (SAPRI) and the Citizen's Assessment of Structural Adjustment (CASA)  Read publication...