Martin McKee

ECOHOST, Department of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

[ 1 ] - “Enemies of the People?” Public Health in the Era of Populist Politics; Comment on “The Rise of Post-truth Populism in Pluralist Liberal Democracies: Challenges for Health Policy”

In this commentary, we review the growth of populist politics, associated with exploitation of what has been termed fake news. We explore how certain words have been used in similar contexts historically, in particular the term “enemy of the people,” especially with regard to public health. We then set out 6 principles for public health professionals faced with these situations. First, using th...

[ 2 ] - Current Models of Investor State Dispute Settlement Are Bad for Health: The European Union Could Offer an Alternative; Comment on “The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Is It Everything We Feared for Health?”

In this commentary, we endorse concerns about the health impact of the trans-pacific partnership (TPP), paying particular attention to its mechanisms for investor state dispute settlement. We then describe the different, judgeled approach being advocated by the European Commission team negotiating the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, arguing that, while not perfect, it offers si...

[ 3 ] - Towards a Global Social Support System: A Response to the Recent Commentaries

[ 4 ] - Reflective Practice: How the World Bank Explored Its Own Biases?

While many international organisations have independent evaluations, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Health organization (WHO), uniquely the World Bank in its 2015 World Development Report sought to ascertain the potential biases that influence how its staff interpret evidence and influence policy. Here, we describe the World Bank’s study design, including experiments ...

[ 5 ] - A Global Social Support System: What the International Community Could Learn From the United States’ National Basketball Association’s Scheme for Redistribution of New Talent

If global trade were fair, it is argued, then international aid would be unnecessary and inequalities inherent to the economic system would be justifiable. Here, we argue that while global trade is unfair, in part because richer countries set the rules, we believe that additional interventions must go beyond trade regulation and short-term aid to redress inequalities among countries that will p...

[ 6 ] - Leadership for Innovation in Healthcare: An Exploration

Although leadership has been studied extensively, most research has focused on the political and military spheres. More recent work has also examined the role of leadership in sectors such as manufacturing and technology, both areas where it is essential to encourage and nurture innovation. Yet, in the health sector, where innovation is now high on the policy agenda in many countries, there is ...

[ 7 ] - We Need to Talk About Corruption in Health Systems

The health sector consistently appears prominently in surveys of perceived corruption, with considerable evidence that this has serious adverse consequences for patients. Yet this issue is far from prominent in the international health policy discourse. We identify five reasons why the health policy community has been reluctant to talk about it. These are the problem of defining corruption, the...

[ 8 ] - Bridging the Gap Between Research and Policy and Practice; Comment on “CIHR Health System Impact Fellows: Reflections on ‘Driving Change’ Within the Health System”

Far too often, there is a gap between research and policy and practice. Too much research is undertaken with little relevance to real life problems or its reported in ways that are obscure and impenetrable. At the same time, many policies are developed and implemented but are untouched by, or even contrary to evidence. An accompanying paper describes an innovative progr...

[ 9 ] - “Sell an Ox” - The Price of Cure for Hepatitis C in Two Countries

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, associated with severe liver disease and cancer, affects 70 million people worldwide. New treatments with direct-acting-antivirals offer cure for about 95% of affected individuals; however, treatment costs may be prohibitive in both the poorest and richest nations. Opting for cure may require sacrificing essential household ass...

[ 10 ] - Where Do We Start? Building Consensus on Drivers of Health Sector Corruption in Nigeria and Ways to Address It

Background Corruption is widespread in Nigeria’s health sector but the reasons why it exists and persists are poorly understood and it is often seen as intractable. We describe a consensus building exercise in which we asked health workers and policy-makers to identify and prioritise feasible responses to corruption in the Nigerian ...