Local Maladies, Global Remedies: Reclaiming the Right to Health in Latin America

Everaldo Lamprea-Montealegre's book explores how health-based litigation has deepened inequalities in the global South, illustrating how transnational pharmaceutical companies are influencing the litigation of health rights. It proposes a set of remedies to help alleviate the challenges faced by global South countries when trying to guarantee their populations' right to health, calling for a major shift of decision-making responsibilities from a local to a global level.

Format: Hardback
Length: 232 pages
Publication date: 21 June 2022
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd

This comprehensive and forward-thinking book delves into the profound transformations that have occurred in the right to health in Latin America over the past decades. It explores the shift towards pharmaceuticalization of healthcare, highlighting the significant inequalities that have emerged in the global South. Everaldo Lamprea-Montealegre, the author, conducts an in-depth investigation into the practices of key actors who are reclaiming the right to health in the region.

The book takes a deep dive into the health care systems of Brazil and Colombia, shedding light on how transnational pharmaceutical companies influence the litigation of health rights. It illustrates how these companies shape doctors' preferences for branded drugs, control the availability of cheaper generics, and promote the use of bio-similars. Through a diverse range of theoretical perspectives and insights from socio-legal literature, the book maps out the practices of stakeholders who are working towards ensuring the right to health in Latin America.

In the concluding remarks, the book proposes a set of remedies to address the challenges faced by global South countries in guaranteeing their populations' right to health. It advocates for a significant shift in decision-making responsibilities from a local to a global level, recognizing the interconnectedness of health issues on a global scale.

The interdisciplinary nature of this cutting-edge book makes it invaluable for scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and students engaged in the intersections of socio-legal studies, sociology, health anthropology, public health, globalization, and human rights. It provides a rich and nuanced understanding of the complex dynamics shaping the right to health in Latin America and offers valuable insights for addressing health disparities worldwide.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781800376533