The Political Economy of Global Health Research

Abstract

A recent article on the front page of our local newspaper carried the arresting title, ‘ “Landmark Breakthrough” in Breast Cancer Research’ (Vancouver Sun, 2007, p. 1). The article, which described research findings regarding gene mutations that lead to breast cancer, proclaimed that the discovery could, in the future, have major positive implications for the prevention and treatment of breast cancer. The following day, the Globe and Mail (2007, p. L.4), a national daily newspaper, carried an article entitled, ‘New Cancer Genes are Low-risk’. This article emphasized that these gene mutations were actually ‘common’ and ‘relatively low-hazard’, meaning that ‘women who have them run a comparatively small risk of developing cancer’. Because the genes are so common and low-risk, the article concluded, there may not be any benefits achieved by screening individuals. This article was published on the fourth page of the ‘Life’ section of the newspaper.

... only about 10 percent of potential [health] improvements in developed countries will come from advances in health technology and management. Almost half will come from preventive personal health practices. And half will come from improvements in the environment we provide for human life. (Naidoo, cited in Cleveland, 2005, p. 56)