1. Global Public Goods and Health: concepts and issues
David Woodward, Richard D Smith
GPG status of the control of major communicable disease
Diseases considered to be GPGs:
Diseases considered not to be GPGs:
For this sub-set of diseases whose control can be considered a GPG, it is also important to distinguish between control within a country or region, to limit the global ‘stock’ of disease which may be disseminated (e.g. polio eradication), and control of cross-border transmission (e.g. through International Health Regulations). These two approaches have very different implications, particularly for the distribution of benefits. Since transmission is predominantly from countries with a high incidence of disease to those with a low incidence, the benefit of limiting cross-border transmission is greatest where incidence is lowest. By contrast, programmes based on in-country control focus on countries with high incidence, which therefore benefit most. Since the incidence of communicable diseases is generally lower in richer than in poorer countries, the approach chosen thus has important implications for equity.