Removing the barriers to global health equity /

MacDonald (emer., London Metropolitan Univ.) sees neoliberalism as a fuzzy economic concept that lies at the heart of why such serious inequities exist in the delivery of health care worldwide. Neoliberalism represents an economic model of open and competitive markets, unfettered by government and emphasizing wealth creation and freedom of action. MacDonald addresses many of the barriers to health equity, demonstrates their interrelationships, and discusses how neoliberalism negatively affects them all. With the World Bank and International Monetary Fund controlled by wealthy countries and banks, debtor countries often are required to pay back loans in ways that undermine their own internal needs such as environmental balance, transportation, education, and health care. To understand the lack of serious progress on global health issues, including those in developed countries, MacDonald argues that one must see this problem as more than a biomedical one; rather, it is one in which an economic model cannot deliver even low-tech life-saving procedures in many developing countries. This book is well reasoned and documented, and provides a valuable resource for future debate. The last chapter includes recommendations on what can be done for global health equity. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates and above; general readers. R. L. Jones emeritus, Pennsylvania State University, College of Medicine