Blind Spot How Neoliberalism Infiltrated Global Health [Hardcover]

Neoliberalism has been the defining paradigm in global health since the latter part of the twentieth century. What started as an untested and unproven theory that the creation of unfettered markets would give rise to political democracy led to policies that promoted the belief that private markets were the optimal agents for the distribution of social goods, including health care.

A vivid illustration of the infiltration of neoliberal ideology into the design and implementation of development programs, this case study, set in post-Soviet Tajikistans remote eastern province of Badakhshan, draws on extensive ethnographic and historical material to examine a revolving drug fund programused by numerous nongovernmental organizations globally to address shortages of high-quality pharmaceuticals in poor communities.?Provocative, rigorous, and accessible,Blind Spotoffers a cautionary tale about the forces driving decision making in health and development policy today, illustrating how the privatization of health care can have catastrophic outcomes for some of the worlds most vulnerable populations.

Salmaan Keshavjeeis a physician and anthropologist with more than two decades of experience working in global health.? He is the Director of the Program in Infectious Disease and Social Change in the Department of Global Health at Harvard Medical School, where he is also Associate Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine and Associate Professor of Medicine.? He also serves on the faculty of the Division of Global Health Equity (DGHE) at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, and is a physician in the Department of Medicine.

Paul Farmeris cofounder of Partners In Health and Chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. His most recent book isReimagining Global Health. Other titles includeTo Repair the World;Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and lc�