Beyond Communicable Disease Control: Health in the Age of Globalization

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Abstract
Public health is one of the most prominent global public goods, yet the history of international co‐operation to control communicable diseases reveals mixed results. To help understand why some diseases have been tamed while others have not, three challenges are analysed. The main finding is that problems tend to persist when the publicness of the response is limited. Here, publicness refers to the three key inputs—available medical knowledge, public health infrastructure and private household spending on complementary goods and services. Examines this relationship in the light of four examples—polio, HIV/AIDS, infection by antimicrobial‐resistant agents, and sickle cell disease. Concludes with a discussion of options for enhancing publicness as defined.