Globalization and Health
Book seminar and general discussions

Date Wednesday 27th September 2006; 13.00-16.00 hours
Venue Sida, Valhallavägen 199.  Room D2062

Organisers Swedish National Institute of Public Health in collaboration with Sida, Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, and Karolinska Institutet.

Target group Experts in international relations, foreign aid, global health, international health, policy makers, politicians and students.

Globalization is “a processof greater integration within the world economy through movements of goods and services, capital, technology and (to a lesser extent) labor, which lead increasingly to economic decisions being influenced by global conditions”.  The effects of globalization have often been discussed in relation to economic growth and outcomes. The impact of globalization on health and social conditions has been given less but now growing attention, with increasing debate on issues such as global public goods, on global social commitments and on the health and social consequences of globalization. Globalization greatly affects the socioeconomic-political context of health. Experts disagree about the overall impact of globalization on health—whether, on the whole, globalization is a positive or negative force. This may arise in part due to the differentials in the distribution of these consequences, with ‘winners and losers’ in different parts of the globe. One fact, however, is clear: The current course of globalization is not a natural phenomenon. It is constructed by society and can be changed, where harm is caused, by public policy. The challenge is thus to construct paths to global integration that  take account of the current social and health impacts, and that facilitate achievement of  global commitments to social development.

In this seminar we will summarize the recently published book, Globalization and Health (Kawachi I & Wamala S (Eds.). Oxford University Press, New York. We will also discuss how globalization is affecting health, from different perspectives and the implications for social and health policy and practice, including the relevance of the Swedish public health policy in a globalizing world.

Presentations
Globalization and health - introduction
Global responses to social consequences of globalization
Globalization and health in east and southern Africa: tapping opportunities for integration or meeting costs of marginalization?
The Swedish public health policy in a globalizing world

Panel discussion
Grassroots collaborations in a globalized world
Sida´s perspective on health and development in a globalized world

Invited external speakers
Dr. Rene´ Loewenson, Director, TARSC/ Regional Network for Equity in Health in East and Southern Africa (EQUINET)
Dr. Ravi Narayan. Former Coordinator of People's Health Movement (PHM) and Senior Advisor to the Community Health Cell.. Bangalore, India.
Associate Professor Ted Schrecker, University of Ottawa, Coordinator, Globalization and Health Knowledge Network. WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health

Swedish speakers
Dr. Anders Molin, Head of Health Division, Sida
Dr. Christer Hogstedt, Professor, Swedish National Institute of Public Health
Dr. Gunnar Ågren, Director General, Swedish National Institute of Public Health
Dr. Sarah Wamala, Head of Unit, Swedish National Institute of Public Health & Karolinska Institutet

Please register not later than 26th September 2006 with monica.larsson@fhi.se