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Abstract
For the health community, globalization offers opportunities but also poses important
challenges. Dramatic progress has been made in the area of health over the past forty years;
however, improvements have been unequally distributed across regions. Developing countries
share a disproportionate burden of avoidable mortality and disability, primarily attributable to
preventable infectious diseases, malnutrition, and complications of childbirth.
Globalization affects global health, which in turn may improve or worsen the health of the
poor in developing countries. This paper reviews the different meanings of globalization and
indicators for some of its components. Using a simple framework, it examines the channels,
which links globalization and health outcomes and identifies among them five main pathways.
The first two pathways connect globalization with general outcomes on the economy and the
government of developing countries, which affect the global health situation. The last three
connect directly globalization with health, through its effect on institutions, nutrition, and the
environment. In conclusion, this paper presents some policy and institutional responses that seek
to reduce the negative and enhance the positive effects of globalization on health in developing
countries.