What Are the Strengths and Weaknesses of Nation States as Actors in Global Health?

PUBH 640 Assessment 1

Question a. Describe the role nation states have in global health. What are the strengths and weaknesses of nation states as actors in global health? Illustrate your answer with examples.

After reading the information about the Global Health System: Actors, Norms, and Expectations in Transition (2010), the opinion what I want to put forward is developed countries play an important role in global public health, they can help the poorer countries to resolve health issues through manpower, material resources and economic support.

For example, as a country with a large population and economy, China is increasingly benefiting the world with its enhanced medical capacity and expertise.  According to China Daily (2017), From exporting low-cost, effective vaccines to sending doctors to fight disease outbreaks, China has made a remarkable contribution to world public health. Because China's vaccines are cheaper than those made in many other countries, they are well suited for poor countries. China's vaccine regulator was approved by the World Health Organization in 2011, and encephalitis vaccines have since been sold on the global market. Thus, China has great potential to supply vaccines to the global public vaccine market through who prequalification, including in response to emergencies such as yellow fever and Ebola. During the Ebola outbreak, China sent 1,200 medical workers to the affected areas. Chinese experts have also trained more than 13,000 local medical workers in nine African countries. Facts have proved that mutual assistance between countries is conducive to the healthy development of the world.

Nation states have their strengths and weaknesses in global health, one of the strengths is developed countries have rich experience in global health governance, which can provide health aid for poor countries people. For example, Discover Diplomacy (2018) state that Each year, the United States helps millions of refugees and victims of conflicts or natural disasters around the world and issues permanent visas to tens of thousands of refugees living in the United States. U.S. bioprogram officials are involved in training Pakistani health care experts on new animal vaccination techniques. HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases of global health challenges. However, developed countries will bring some potential risks to the global health governance, such as foreign organizations or government interests and national interests’ conflict; Could appeal to the local health officials and technical personnel to join, which may reduce their health system and to some extent break their policy and law.