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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 drug addict uses a glass water pipe to smoke methamphetamine at an undisclosed drug den in Manila, Philippines, on June 20, 2016. The photo is a closeup of a man smoking from a glass pipe. REUTERS/Staff/File Photo

Coronavirus is a Public Health Nightmare—Now Comes One More
by A. Taylor Thomas, Emily Briskin - July 2, 2020

As the pandemic chokes off opioid supplies from China and unemployment skyrockets, U.S. meth addiction is set to explode

Trade
Masks are seen on a production line manufacturing masks at a factory in Shanghai, China January 31, 2020. New York City alone could face a shortage of millions of masks in the coming months. The image shows a human hand with two bright orange bandaids on the thumb and middle finger picking its way across a huge pile of masks. REUTERS/Aly Song

A Truce in the Trade War Will Save American Lives

by Susan Shirk, Yanzhong Huang

Immediately lifting all tariffs on personal protection equipment will enable doctors and nurses to safely do their work

Trade
Virtual shoppers: mannequins are pictured in the middle of a corridor at a closed shopping mall amid the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Jakarta, Indonesia March 31, 2020. This is a powerful photo of an intriguing subject matter—a bunch of mannequins stacked up in the middle of a corridor. REUTERS/Fransiska Nangoy

Global Health Surveillance in an Internet Age

by Rohini Rajgopal

Let's come up with a sophisticated surveillance system for predicting local disease outbreaks based on consumer behavior

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Addressing pandemic preparedness after COVID-19 will require going deeper than the surface. Here a worker sanitizes surfaces inside the Inox Leisure movie theatre in Mumbai, India, October 13, 2020. The photo is striking, showing a worker spraying disinfectant wearing a blue suit descending down a theater staircase where all the seats and carpet are bright red. REUTERS/Niharika Kulkarni
Trade

Back to Basics After COVID-19

by Sonya Stokes

Investing in Primary Care Now Will Prepare the U.S. for the Next Pandemic

Volunteers wait for their names to be called before testing and taking part in a COVID-19 clinical trial at the Wits RHI Shandukani Research Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, on August 27, 2020. Picture shows a waiting room full of people. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
Trade

Vaccine Nationalism and Africa

by Evaborhene Aghogho Nelson 

African Union calls for a “People's Vaccine” as African Academy of Sciences begins mapping local clinical trials sites

A woman holds a small bottle labeled with a "Vaccine COVID-19" sticker and a medical syringe in this illustration taken on April 10, 2020, in Bosnia. The photo shows a woman holding a small vial to her face. She is wearing a mask and gloves and the vial reads, COVID-19. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic
Trade

A New Way to Drive COVID-19 Vaccine Development

by Adrian Towse, Kalipso Chalkidou, Rachel Silverman

How a "benefit-based advance market commitment" could build on existing Gavi COVAX and EU Joint Procurement initiatives