Oral

The ideal of social justice calls us to attend to the broadest determinants of health, those which shape and structure health outcomes in the most enduring fashion, even as local efforts attempt to ameliorate their most immediate effects. Today’s global economy is one such social determinant of health. Contemporary global economic policy has been found to contribute to a growing wealth gap between and within nations, the privatization and growing inaccessibility of health services, a privileging of corporate rights over public goods, reduced protections for worker health and safety, weakened environmental protections, and a largely unfettered trade in health-harming products. While the adverse effects of such trends must be addressed at local levels, action at the national and global policy level is necessary to create more enduring health protections and hope for a more just global economy. Globalization today is guided by principles of free market trade, which by nature, marginalizes public health considerations in favor of market principles. Over the past decade, however, public health has become an important countervailing force to the deleterious effects of trade and globalization, working to advance the imperative of health justice in shaping the future of trade policies. This special session will examine the health effects of globalization, paying particular attention to how international trade agreements have shaped population health both domestically and internationally. Topics of focus will include: the effects of international trade agreements on worker health and safety and the multiple efforts that have been attempted or proposed, with mixed success, to improve worker protections within and in adjunct to contemporary trade policies; the increasing export of “obesogenic food environments” under contemporary trade policy with a resulting deleterious effect on health and nutrition; the market dynamics influencing the pharmaceutical industry and the resultant access and quality issues that arise for global populations; the role and rights of corporations in shaping democracy, health and the environment in our contemporary global society; and finally, the opportunities that exist today for influencing the future of trade policies, presenting campaigns which public health has mounted to ensure greater health protections within trade and trade policies. Ultimately, this session will question how the public health imperative of social justice might be achieved through public health professionals’ proactive participation in shaping the policies of contemporary globalization. The proliferation of international trade agreements has too often outpaced the capacity and response of governments, non-profits and the public health community to protect population health. This session will renew our challenge to ensure that public health has a strong voice in promoting global policies that advance economic development while sustaining life, healthy societies and the environment.

Session Objectives: Describe the population health effects of contemporary international trade policies. Discuss the intersection of trade policy and trends in workforce protections, corporate rights, and food production. Identify opportunities where public health may influence trade and trade policy.

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH)