Globalization and Health最新文献

{"title":"China's COVID-19 aid in Africa: trends and implications for future pandemic preparedness.","authors":"Julia Hudson, Raghav Venkataramani, Sailor Miao, Julius N Odhiambo","doi":"10.1186/s12992-025-01153-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-025-01153-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Chronic underfunding of pandemic preparedness remains a critical weakness in global health security. Without sustained, strategic investment, the world risks repeating the reactive approaches of past crises. This study examines the modes of COVID-19 aid delivered by the Chinese government across African countries and regions, offering a nuanced understanding of China's operational role in pandemic response. In doing so, it contributes to the global health assistance literature by providing a more comprehensive view of China's involvement in the prevention, treatment, and control of COVID-19.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Analysis of 727 Chinese health-related project commitments to African countries indicates that the majority targeted the provision of personal protective equipment (43.33%), followed by diagnostic and medical equipment (26%), and vaccination initiatives (17.88%). Regionally, Southern Africa received the highest average number of projects per country, while Northern Africa received the lowest. At the national level, South Africa (5.09%), Zimbabwe (4.00%), and Cameroon (3.85%) accounted for the largest shares of total projects, whereas Eritrea (0.001%), Cabo Verde (0.004%), and Somalia (0.004%) received the smallest proportions.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This research reveals the growing significance of Chinese aid in the global health agenda through its active role in combating COVID-19 across the African continent. It also highlights emerging trends and suggests potential adjustments needed in pandemic financing strategies for more effective future efforts.</p>","PeriodicalId":12747,"journal":{"name":"Globalization and Health","volume":"21 1","pages":"59"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145367921","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pharmaceutical access in Brazil: challenges and opportunities.","authors":"Cristina M Ruas, Ronaldo Portela, Francisco de Assis Acurcio, Juliana Alvares-Teodoro, Augusto Afonso Guerra Júnior, Aaron S Kesselheim","doi":"10.1186/s12992-025-01141-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12992-025-01141-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Brazil faces challenges in ensuring equitable access to prescription drugs for its population. Socioeconomic disparities contribute to health inequalities, impacting access to health care services, including medicines. Brazil's Unified Health System aims to provide universal health care coverage, but only 30·5% of people obtain all of their prescribed medications through public channels free of charge. The objective is to characterize the Brazilian pharmaceutical market to better understand the underlying factors affecting medicine accessibility.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a literature review to assess the current state of the pharmaceutical market and prescription drug access in Brazil.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>The Brazilian pharmaceutical market is extensive but highly concentrated, characterized by low investment in original research and development (R&D) and a heavy reliance on imported active pharmaceutical ingredients. Challenges include vulnerability to economic and external factors. Additionally, high medicine prices, prioritization of production of expensive new medicines over those for prevalent diseases, and shortages contribute to inequalities in access. Regulatory issues, underfunding of health care, and legal discrepancies exacerbate these challenges but also present opportunities for reform.</p><p><strong>Interpretation: </strong>The policymakers should prioritize enhancing R&D investment, reducing dependency on international markets, strengthening regulatory frameworks, and improving health care system efficiency to ensure reliable access to essential medicines.</p>","PeriodicalId":12747,"journal":{"name":"Globalization and Health","volume":"21 1","pages":"57"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12522811/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145291918","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Migration dynamics and nutritional outcomes in a lower middle-income country: evidence from Vietnam.","authors":"Thang T Vo, Nguyen Thi Bich Hien, Tran My Huyen, Vu Ngoc Tan","doi":"10.1186/s12992-025-01154-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12992-025-01154-z","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12747,"journal":{"name":"Globalization and Health","volume":"21 1","pages":"58"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12522847/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145291966","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Understanding the marketing of BMS in China through pregnant women and new mothers' diary.","authors":"Ruixin Chi, Muxia Li, Na Zhang, Suying Chang, Anuradha Narayan, Guansheng Ma","doi":"10.1186/s12992-025-01151-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12992-025-01151-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Despite strong evidence supporting breastfeeding's benefits for maternal and child health, breastfeeding rates (e.g. any breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months etc.) in China are still suboptimal. The pervasive marketing of breast-milk substitutes (BMS) plays a significant role. Yet research on BMS marketing-especially in China-is scarce, and a clear characterization of the channels and underlying themes through which pregnant women and new mothers encounter such advertising is critical for informing effective regulation of BMS promotions, advancing breastfeeding practices and ultimately improving maternal and child health.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A marketing diary approach was employed in a one-week pilot study involving 20 participants in Beijing and Jinan, China. Each participant was required to document all BMS marketing-related messages encountered-capturing screenshots or photos and annotating channel and thematic content. Quantitative exposure proportions by channel were calculated, and qualitative data underwent thematic content analysis by two independent coders. This study aimed to preliminarily map the online marketing ecology of BMS and to compare these findings against existing regulatory frameworks, thereby informing actionable recommendations to strengthen monitoring of compliance of BMS marketing.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 234 BMS marketing records were documented, 90.2% of which occurred via digital platforms. Among online channels, social media (45.3%), e-commerce websites (15.4%), video streaming platforms (15.0%) and general web browsing (14.5%) predominated; offline channels accounted for the remaining 9.8%. Four principal promotional strategies were identified-competitive promotions, nutritional claims, corporate identity building and word-of-mouth endorsements. Eight thematic categories emerged, led by nutrition claims, sales promotions and infant health benefits. Several participants critically appraised ambiguous or scientifically unsubstantiated assertions.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Chinese pregnant women and mothers of infants aged 0-18 months encounter frequent, multifaceted BMS marketing (activities, or strategies, or tactics) predominantly through digital channels. China's current regulatory framework governs food labelling but affords limited monitoring of BMS advertising across all channels-particularly digital platforms-underscoring the need for comprehensive regulation that explicitly includes online marketing tactics. A multisectoral strategy-combining policy reform, targeted health education and rigorous enforcement of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (the International Code)-is required to protect and promote breastfeeding.</p>","PeriodicalId":12747,"journal":{"name":"Globalization and Health","volume":"21 1","pages":"56"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12505865/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145244166","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Strengthening hospital infrastructure in a war context: the case of the Mopti regional hospital.","authors":"Fanny Chabrol, Pierre Coulibaly, Abdourahmane Coulibaly","doi":"10.1186/s12992-025-01149-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12992-025-01149-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In sub-Saharan Africa, public hospitals should play a key role in providing quality, affordable health care and contribute to robust health systems, particularly in war-torn contexts. In Mali, a multidimensional crisis has had a severe impact on the health of the people and on the overall health infrastructure and its capacity to respond to the crisis. Public hospitals suffer from multiple long-standing constraints that are rendered even more acute in the context of war. This paper presents governmental, development, and humanitarian efforts and interventions aimed at strengthening hospital infrastructure in Mopti, central Mali. Three key dimensions of hospital infrastructure are fundamental to ongoing operations: human resources, governance, and equipment/maintenance. The results revealed two approaches to strengthening hospital infrastructure: a developmental approach, aimed at constructing new buildings and implementing hospital autonomy-oriented reforms, and a pragmatic approach that focuses more on concrete solutions to the most urgent needs. The insights presented here argue for stronger linkages between these two approaches to reinforce the everyday functionality of health care infrastructures in destabilized contexts.</p>","PeriodicalId":12747,"journal":{"name":"Globalization and Health","volume":"21 1","pages":"55"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12492689/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145212425","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From knowledge to action: the role of professional health associations on public health well-being in Ukraine.","authors":"Dmytro Stepanskyi, Kenneth G Castro","doi":"10.1186/s12992-025-01146-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12992-025-01146-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Professional health associations increasingly serve as vital transnational actors in responding to global public health emergencies and shaping health system resilience. Their cross-border collaboration becomes especially critical in conflict-affected settings, where local infrastructure is overwhelmed, and international expertise, advocacy, and solidarity can bridge urgent gaps. In Ukraine, the intersection of war, health system disruption, and infectious disease threats has underscored the role of organizations such as the All-Ukrainian Association of Public Health Specialists (UPHA), the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID), the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), and the American Public Health Association (APHA). These associations contribute technical assistance, policy guidance, and emergency response and cultivate a shared professional culture and knowledge base that transcends national borders. While the role of professional health associations in routine healthcare delivery and advocacy has been previously explored in the literature, few publications have addressed their mobilization during acute crises-particularly in lower-resource or conflict settings. This comment responds to that gap by examining how professional associations act as platforms for coordinated response, capacity building, and health diplomacy during complex emergencies, with a specific focus on addressing infectious diseases in Ukraine. It draws on desk reviews, organizational reports, and authors' insights to inform how these associations support infection prevention, biosafety, antimicrobial resistance surveillance, and the development of a resilient public health workforce-issues of global relevance that demand collaborative solutions.</p>","PeriodicalId":12747,"journal":{"name":"Globalization and Health","volume":"21 1","pages":"54"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12482857/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145191603","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluation of integration in WHO's tuberculosis, HIV, and antimicrobial resistance policies through the social-ecological lens.","authors":"Jian Yang, Jiabin Xu, Christoph Benn, Xiaoyi Yu, Ying Chen, Shuduo Zhou, Zhongfei Pei, Yunxuan Hu, Ming Xu","doi":"10.1186/s12992-025-01150-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12992-025-01150-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>TB, HIV, and AMR are closely related global health challenges. In the context of limited global health funds and insufficient resources, an integrated tuberculosis, HIV and antimicrobial resistance prevention and control method will play an important role in the optimization of resources and cost-effectiveness.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study aims to analyze the degree of policy integration for issues of tuberculosis, HIV and antimicrobial resistance in global health strategies and make recommendations for improving global health governance on related issues.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a thorough analysis of global health policy documents from January 2015 to February 2024, using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Our focus was on assessing the integration effectiveness of current global health governance mechanisms in addressing tuberculosis, HIV, and antimicrobial resistance from the global governance view based on the content analysis through word frequency analysis and thematic framework analysis. Besides, we conduct a thematic framework analysis of the action plans and policy recommendations outlined in the most recent reports from UNAIDS, Stop TB, and UNEP on HIV, TB and AMR.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The analysis revealed that most documents address TB, HIV, and AMR in isolation, with limited integration and intersectionality. TB and HIV are more frequently linked, while AMR is less associated with the other two. The proposed action lacks specific provisions for joint implementation or monitoring of the evaluation. Additionally, no documented comprehensive overview includes the overall framework of three health priorities.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The study found that the current global health governance mechanism is significantly inadequate in dealing with integration solutions among tuberculosis, HIV and antimicrobial resistance. So we propose establishing integrated governance and coordination mechanisms for the same population at both horizontal and vertical levels, including individual, interpersonal, community, institutional, and societal levels, and developing an integrated policy framework to facilitate better resolution to address the association between TB, HIV infection and antimicrobial resistance in a resource-limited context.</p><p><strong>Clinical trial number: </strong>Not applicable.</p>","PeriodicalId":12747,"journal":{"name":"Globalization and Health","volume":"21 1","pages":"53"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12482740/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145191579","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Actor-network and stakeholder analysis in preventing health goods smuggling in Iran.","authors":"Farzaneh Mahmoudi Meymand, Amirhossein Takian, Ebrahim Jaafaripooyan","doi":"10.1186/s12992-025-01147-y","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12992-025-01147-y","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12747,"journal":{"name":"Globalization and Health","volume":"21 1","pages":"52"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12400539/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144951612","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Corporate political activity of the food industry in the development of food policies in Latin America and the Caribbean: a narrative review of the current literature.","authors":"Vania Lara-Mejía, Ariadna Villalobos-Pérez, Lizbeth Tolentino-Mayo, Florence L Théodore, Yatziri Ayvar-Gama, Simón Barquera","doi":"10.1186/s12992-025-01136-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-025-01136-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the commercial interests of the food industry dominate the food environment, jeopardising current efforts to improve the health and nutrition of the population. This study aims to document action strategies, mechanisms and practices (ASMP) of corporate political activity (CPA) employed by the food industry to obstruct public health, food, and nutrition policies in LAC countries. A narrative review was conducted based on publicly available data sources from scientific and grey literature across the 33 countries in the LAC region. Data were collected on the food industry's CPA within the health, food and nutrition policy cycle. For the analysis, the framework developed by Ulucanlar et al. (2023) to categorise ASMP of CPA, together with the policy cycle model proposed by Knill and Tosun (2008), was applied.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Documents published from January 2018 to October 2024 were examined using search strategies across multiple databases and citation tracking. In total, 76 documents from 24 countries in LAC were included in the analysis. The majority of documents originated from Mexico (n = 22, 28.9%) and Brazil (n = 12, 15.8%), with a notable concentration published in 2022. Front-of-pack food labelling and taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages were the policies with the most documented CPA evidence. The most frequently identified action strategy was accessing and influencing policy making (n = 69, 90.8%), primarily in the policy cycle formulation, adoption and implementation phases. While the CPA mechanisms and practices varied by country, more than 900 examples of practices were documented throughout the review.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Despite the limited availability of public information in LAC -particularly in Central America and the Caribbean- this review identified a broad range of ASMP used to influence health, food and nutrition policy processes. These findings highlight the need for a multifaceted response to counteract the harmful effects of the food industry's influence in the LAC region and underscore the urgency of safeguarding public health. Establishing robust legal frameworks to regulate conflicts of interest and to ensure greater transparency throughout the policy cycle are critical steps toward creating healthier food environments across the region.</p>","PeriodicalId":12747,"journal":{"name":"Globalization and Health","volume":"21 1","pages":"51"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12379346/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144951634","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Towards developing new private sector maternity care models in South Africa: results from a deliberative stakeholder dialogue.","authors":"Tanya Doherty, Sue Fawcus, Vishal Brijlal, Geetesh Solanki","doi":"10.1186/s12992-025-01145-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-025-01145-0","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12747,"journal":{"name":"Globalization and Health","volume":"21 1","pages":"50"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12369056/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144951627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}