Publication

Powerful Allies and Weak Consensus: Towards a Deeper Understanding of how Health-Harming Industries Seek to Influence Global Health Governance

Authors
Zenone M, Hawkins B.
Academic Journal
International Journal of Health Policy and Management
Published
September 2021

Suzuki et al. have identified commonalities in the policy positions adopted at a global forum by commercial sector actors and high-income countries, on the one hand, and nongovernmental organizations and low- and middle-income countries, on the other, in ways that may allow commercial sector actors to block or delay evidence-based policies through the creation of political controversy. The ability of industry actors to draw on the support of the most politically and economically powerful countries for their favoured policy agenda is an important contribution to understanding the dynamics of global health governance in the area of non-communicable diseases and beyond. Here we assess the relevance of this paper for the field of corporate actors’ research and the potential avenues this opens up for further study. More specifically we emphasize the need for comparative, cross disciplinary research to examine the power of heath- harming industries and the relevance of these findings for decolonizing global health.