When we invoked the example of the US National Basketball Association's (NBA's) scheme for redistribution of new talent as a model offering lessons for a possible future global social support system we hoped that we would stimulate debate. Consequently, we are very grateful to Goldblatt and...

Globalization, a process characterized by the growing interdependence of the world's people, impacts health systems and the social determinants of health in ways that are detrimental to health equity. In a world in which there are few countervailing normative and policy approaches to the...

The 21st century global health landscape requires effective global action in the face of globalization of trade, travel, information, human rights, ideas, and disease. The new global health era is more plural, comprising a number of key actors, and requiring more coordination of effort,...

With the Paul Wolfowitz era behind it and new appointee Robert Zoellick at the helm, it is time for the World Bank to better define its role in an increasingly crowded and complex global health architecture, says Jennifer Prah Ruger, health economist and former World Bank speechwriter

The summer 2014 Ebola virus outbreak in Western Africa illustrates global health's striking inequalities. Globalization has also increased pandemics, and disparate health system conditions mean that where one falls ill or is injured in the world can mean the difference between quality care,...

"The Changing Role of the World Bank in Global Health" received numerous comments. In this response I restate the specific aims of the paper and offer comments regarding the Bank's structural adjustment programs and governance structure, its support of privatization and user fees, its...

Objective: To study cross-national inequalities in mortality of adults and of children aged 5 years using a novel approach, with clustering techniques to stratify countries into mortality groups (better-off, worse-off, mid-level) and to examine risk factors associated with inequality. Design,...

Background: A world divided by health inequalities poses ethical challenges for global health. International and national responses to health disparities must be rooted in ethical values about health and its distribution; this is because ethical claims have the power to motivate, delineate...

The World Bank began operations on June 25, 1946. Although it was established to finance European reconstruction after World War II, the bank today is a considerable force in the health, nutrition, and population (HNP) sector in developing countries. Indeed, it has evolved from having virtually...

The experience of human life differs dramatically depending on where one lives in the world. While many of those in wealthier countries can expect decent nutrition, housing, education, and health care, those in the poorest countries live under extraordinary poverty and hardship, without...