Word: globalization
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Though they may be only one step toward improving lives around the world, vaccinations are of the utmost importance. A simple inoculation can prevent common diseases that would otherwise cause death, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s pledge acknowledges the very real possibility of improving global health via vaccinations. In that sense—and ignoring his unnecessary commentary about global priorities—Gates’s pledge for the coming decade is a wonderful and laudable example of an entrepreneur-turned-philanthropist...
Problems in global health are rarely well served by philosophical binary or good intentions alone. Global health is a highly politicized field, one in which questions of implementation, priorities, and ethics make the question, “How can we eliminate problems in global health?” one that requires a far more complex answer than is immediately obvious...
...very complexity of this issue demands that we cast a critical eye on all well-intentioned efforts to remedy global health deficiencies worldwide, no matter who leads these efforts or the monetary backing accompanying them. Bill Gates’ recent pledge of $10 billion toward global immunization of children is no exception...
Gates’ pledge is atypical in the field of global health. Manifest in his massive donation is the will of an individual who is acting with almost full agency, thanks in part to his own considerable wealth. This has obvious benefits: A single person can often move much more quickly than some of the less agile organizations involved in global health, since they do not have to contend with the same political forces and special interests. Gates’ immense wealth grants him a type of influence in the field that resembles state power, but unlike the decisions...
...logic that any aid is good aid. Others note that while it is easy to argue for critical analysis of health care delivery methods, people are dying all around the world. Both of these arguments are a disservice to the seriousness and complexity of the issues. Organizational approaches to global health are not always ideal, but at the very least they benefit from heterogeneous influences and collective input from individuals who all share equal standing. Gates’ authority does not benefit from this kind of democratic input—he has advisers, but ultimately he and his wife...