ANTH/HSERV 475 Perspectives in Medical Anthropology University of WashingtonAlejandro Cerón Office: Denny Hall 417 Office hours: Wed 11 am -1 pm Week 11: Wed, 12/8/2010

Outline Goal: explore the contributions of medical anthropology to contemporary global health challenges Globalization and health Some definitions Contemporary challenges Take home message Evaluation of the class by students (last 10 min)

Globalization Process whereby people (and the world) are becoming more interconnected and interdependent via particular political-economic relations that work to compress: time (everything is faster), space (geographic boundaries are less defined), and cognition (awareness of the world as a whole) (Labonte and Torgerson 2005) Is it new? Speed Ideology driving it Neoliberal globalization

Main tenets: Unfettered free markets bring economic growth = development = poverty reduction Key elements: Reduction of subsidies for the poor Cost recovery/user fees for essential services Privatization of public assets Weakened role of government Growing dominance of western-based transnational capital High military expenditures

Neoliberal globalization influences health Pathways Trade liberalization and the world trade regime Global reorganization of production and labor markets Debt crisis and structural adjustment of developing country economies Environmental damage Financial liberalization Greatest concern: These tend to increase health inequalities People’s Health Movement’s logo

Globalization: some lessons Financial integration, faster communication, and international mobile labor force = Potential both to benefit and harm population health Trade liberalization, labor market reorganization, structural adjustment, financial liberalization, and assaults on the environment = can harm public health and communities Transnational corporations provide employment, but can exploit workers, contaminate the environment, and have undemocratic influence Community organizing and advocacy can and have confronted undemocratic and unaccountable global institutions, and catalyzed change for the better

From last class…

Indigenous peoples People with disabilities Prisoners Migrants & asylum seekers Mental health Sexual and reproductive health Global health governance WHO, UNICEF World Bank, IMF Gates Foundation Government aid U.S.AID; Canada, Australia Transnational corporations Breastfeeding, tobacco Climate change Water Food Education War Urbanization Humanitarian aid Medicines Workers Gene tech. Health systems Health care sector Beyond health care Health of vulnerable groups Holding to account

Medical anthropology’s essential contribution BiopoliticsSocial representationsCultural perceptionsBiology Socio-economic- political environment Natural environment

U.S. nurse shortage (link, 3:37 min)link Japan nurse shortage (link, 3:10 min)link Philippines, nurses (link, 10 min)link Malawi, “brain drain” (link, 22 min)link

Thank you all for a great quarter!