The politics of agenda setting in international health: child health versus adult health in developing countries
Reich, M.R.
Journal of International Development 7(3): 489-502
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 0954-1748 PMID: 12290763 DOI: 10.1002/jid.3380070310Document Number: 305750
Policy change is a political process. Political analysis is therefore necessary to understand how and why policies change. Noting that the politics of setting the international health policy agenda are poorly understood, the author compares such politics, with regard to child health and adult health, along the following political streams: organizational, symbolic, economic, scientific, and politician politics. This approach is a modified version of Kingdon's garbage can model of how public policy agendas are set. The five political streams were all found to long favor child health over adult health as an issue on the international health policy agenda. In the early 1990s, however, the World Bank has asserted greater influence on the agenda than before, with a concerted effort to shift the focus from child health to adult health and to give greater attention to the preventive aspects of adult health in poor countries.
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