ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an overview of the public health in today's globalising world. It sets out the context that the global health architecture must operate within and the issues it must address. The new global health context requires new rules, new actors, and innovative responses. At the World Trade Organization's (WTO) ministerial meeting in Doha, Qatar, in 2001, members took the unprecedented step of adopting a special declaration on issues related to Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and public health. Public health scientists are still in the early stages of gathering evidence on the effects of globalisation on population health. This evidence is required to inform policies and actions to protect and promote the health of poor and vulnerable populations. Threats to global health come from infectious diseases, but in many countries threats come even more prevalently from non-communicable diseases.
