ABSTRACT
The absence of an international approach to health is only one concern. Another is the prevailing international economic architecture that reduces the ability of nation-states, especially in lower-income countries, to develop and to finance health systems and policies that can confront these challenges. Moreover, the fiscal space of governments is reduced through high sovereign debt servicing requirements that often become the first charge on public resources; an outdated global tax system that makes it difficult to raise revenues by adequately taxing both corporate and individual high-income earners; and limits on public spending and on running deficits, even in situations of extreme need, due to fear of flight of highly mobile capital. The global intellectual property regime also constrains the transmission of essential knowledge and technology that can counter existing and emerging health threats.
