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Trade

The links between trade and health extend back to the earliest human settlements, but globalization has brought these spheres together as never before. This section examines the issues that have led to an even closer intersection between trade and health, asks how they impact the poor, and explores the tensions that arise between the goals of protecting and promoting health and generating wealth through trade.

Trade

29.3%

Goods and services exports as share of global GDP

Goods and services exports as share of global GDP Goods and services exports as share of global GDP

48%

Developing country share of global trade, 2014

Developing country share of global trade, 2014 Developing country share of global trade, 2014

50

Preferential trade agreements, in 1990

Preferential trade agreements, in 1990 Preferential trade agreements, in 1990

301

Preferential trade agreements in 2019

Preferential trade agreements in 2019 Preferential trade agreements in 2019

1995

Founding of World Trade Organization (WTO)

Founding of World Trade Organization (WTO) Founding of World Trade Organization (WTO)

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Trade
A nurse takes a photograph during a rally in front of the Government House in Bangkok October 16, 2012. Nurses attending the rally demanded better working conditions and full-time jobs, asking the government to improve job security by offering permanent contracts. The nurse stands in her white outfit against a sea of brightly colored umbrellas.

Southeast Asia’s Big Export to the World: Health Professionals
by Swee Kheng Khor - December 11, 2019

What long-term effect will the brain drain have on SE Asia, on top of a current shortfall of 700,000 doctors and nurses?

Trade
Chinese men work at a brick production plant in Xian, northwest of China's Shaanxi province on April 27, 2005. The photo shows a man pulling bricks off a stack where they were presumably kiln fired and placing them into a stack in the foreground. the overall color of the photo is brick red, suggesting that the dust is everywhere.

Tackling Occupational Diseases in China

by Yanzhong Huang

With 200 million or more workers exposed to unsafe conditions, holding employers accountable remains a daunting task

Trade
People waiting at Fatmawati hospital in Jakarta on May 17, 2013, after Indonesia announced plans to implement nationwide health care, with the aim to covering all Indonesians by the end of the decade. The picture shows a crowded waiting room with a man in the foreground with a red cloth draped over his head and holding what appears to be a bag of ice against his cheek. He looks like he is suffering. REUTERS/Beawiharta.

The March of Private Health Care in Southeast Asia

by Swee Kheng Khor

How can a government achieve universal coverage for all citizens in a landscape where private care is deeply entrenched?

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Nepalese police officers and other officials walking inside the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu after Nepal confirmed the first case of coronavirus in the country on January 28, 2020. The picture shows three officers in full uniforms and two officials wearing suits walking toward the camera down a long air terminal corridor with windows on both sides. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar.
Trade

Coronavirus and the Cruel Cost of Closing Borders

by Deepa Jahagirdar

Travel bans rarely prevent disease spread, but they have negative consequences—and may violate international health law

People waiting at Fatmawati hospital in Jakarta on May 17, 2013, after Indonesia announced plans to implement nationwide health care, with the aim to covering all Indonesians by the end of the decade. The picture shows a crowded waiting room with a man in the foreground with a red cloth draped over his head and holding what appears to be a bag of ice against his cheek. He looks like he is suffering. REUTERS/Beawiharta.
Trade

The March of Private Health Care in Southeast Asia

by Swee Kheng Khor

How can a government achieve universal coverage for all citizens in a landscape where private care is deeply entrenched?

Chinese men work at a brick production plant in Xian, northwest of China's Shaanxi province on April 27, 2005. The photo shows a man pulling bricks off a stack where they were presumably kiln fired and placing them into a stack in the foreground. the overall color of the photo is brick red, suggesting that the dust is everywhere.
Trade

Tackling Occupational Diseases in China

by Yanzhong Huang

With 200 million or more workers exposed to unsafe conditions, holding employers accountable remains a daunting task