In recent years, Ghana has been recognised as a leading player in addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Africa. However, based on our literature review, we could not ascertain whether the core elements of the national action plan (NAP) were implemented in practice. In this paper, we present a qualitative analysis of the development of AMR-related policies in Ghana, including the NAP. We conducted 13 semi-structured expert interviews to obtain at a more thorough understanding of the implementation process for the AMR NAP and to highlight its accomplishments and shortcomings. The results show that AMR policies, as embodied in the NAP, have led to an extended network of cooperation between stakeholders in many political fields. Broadly, limited allocation of financial resources from the government and from international cooperation have been deplored. Furthermore, the opportunity for using the NAP in mainstreaming the response to the threat of AMR has not been seized. To the general public, this remained hidden behind a number of other relevant health topics such as infection prevention, veterinary services and pharmaceutical regulation. As a One Health (OH) challenge, developing countries could integrate AMR NAPs into other health and environmental programmes to improve its implementation in practice.

AB STRACT This article analyses the impact of new institutional structures in global health governance (GHG) on the realization of social rights in poor countries. Focusing on the example of global HIV/AIDS politics. The article argues that new governance modes increase the participation of civil society groups and affected communities, but also that they are frequently instrumentalized by powerful actors to pursue their particular interests. In fact, increasing resources are mobilized for the fight against poverty-related diseases. The article concludes that, as the experience of HIV/AIDS politics, the conflicts around the TRIPS Agreement and the development of Global Public-Private Partnerships GPPPs suggest, GHG is characterized by a combination of moral values and material interests that does not guarantee a comprehensive realization of social rights, but which allows some progress in the fight against poverty-related diseases — a step toward realization of social rights.

The article aims at giving a comprehensive overview on controlling communicable diseases (CCD) and discusses the implications of providing CCD as a global public good (GPG). After a short introductory summary of the history of CCD, Sections “PUBLIC (COMMON) GOODS” and “GLOBAL PUBLIC GOODS” offer a concise definition of the concepts of “public goods” and “global public goods”. Sections “INTERNATIONAL HEALTH REGULATIONS (1969–2005) AS A GPG” and “IHR (2005) AND CCD” critically analyse the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005) as a means to provide CCD as a GPG, and argues that it falls short of that goal as (a) many countries are not able to provide the “Core Capacity Requirements for Surveillance and Response” because of severe deficits of their health systems, (b) the IHR do not include HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, etc. which are a constant threat in infested regions (and to international transmission) and may be called “chronic infectious diseases” and (c) ignore the issue of fighting antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, full global health security (accepting the highest attainable standard of health as a human right) needs an integrated CCD which implied that CCD is provided as a GPG, including minimal standards of health everywhere, a “One-Health” approach, and the perspective of “Health in All Policies” (Section “TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED CONTROL OF COMMUNICABLE DISEASES AS A GPG”). Section “FINANCE OF CCD” discusses the dimension of financing CCD as a GPG and poses the question whether an enhanced transnational norm-building and solidarity can be expected. Improving CCD is not only one step towards the goal of “one healthy world”, but also depends on a comprehensive improvement of health services.

This chapter considers the impact of globalization on international health policies and the emergence of new approaches to Global Health Governance (GHG). The first part of the chapter describes the changes in institutional structures since the 1990s that have had a fundamental impact on GHG. These structural changes have occurred as the discourse on trans-boundary health has broadened and engaged more public, private and voluntary sector actors in the debate. This has brought greater recognition of the need to mobilize a range of financial and other resources and to adopt a more flexible approach to problem solving. But the proliferation of public and private actors has also brought greater complexity that could inhibit the effective application of these resources and solutions.