International Agencies Worsening / Ameliorating Public Health

To what extent are the efforts of international agencies worsening/ameliorating Public Health? Public health systems were once a bilateral relationship between a government and its population; a contract that provided citizens with reliable maintenance or health improvement services to live long, dignified lives. Ever since the newest globalization wave, post WWII and, after the â€Å"elimination of the geo-political barriers† that created world integration, public health became an asymmetrical relationship between governments, non state actors, humanitarian groups, INGO’s, NGO’s and relevant MNC’s, like pharmaceutical corporations. (Diaz-Bonilla et al. 2006, 3) Even though, these third parties are notably involved in multiple states†¦show more content†¦Government involvement post- Soviet Union, experienced a new wave of libertarianism, one where the Western society spread their democratic and progressive thoughts to the rest of the world, leadi ng to a â€Å"period of economic prosperity†, in at least, their side of the hemisphere. (Garrett, 2000, 287) On the other hand, this signified the end of collectivity, in other words, â€Å"all public health burdens and responsibilities fell to the individual†. (Garrett 2000, 267) The United States, for instance, had its golden age during the nineteenth century, but by the 1990’s â€Å"the same nation turned its back on most of the key elements of the enterprise known as Public Health†. (Garrett 2000, 268) Given that legal public health authorities had been stripped from their rights and duties in the early 20th century, no one could monitor or shut down dangerous practices, that could be prescribing wrong medications or producing nosocomial diseases. (Garrett 2000, 275) Doctors were permanently and continuously prescribing medications to their patients which caused bacteria to develop antibiotic resistance, but in order to â€Å"control resistance in the community, it was necessary to control hospitals first†. (Garrett 2000, 276) If this was the case in more developed countries, the scenarios in LDC’s could be much worse. â€Å"The public health movement is at threat in both wealthy