Global health interdependence and the international physicians' movement
G. A. Gellert
Harvard Institute for International Development, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138.
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War has had an
impressive public impact in the 1980s, helping to shatter the myths of
surviving and medically responding to a nuclear attack. The 1990s present a
new challenge for the medical community in a different social and
international context characterized by increasing global interdependence.
Another view of physician activism is presented to complement advocacy for
nuclear disarmament in the promotion of peace. A framework for analysis is
provided by "fateful visions"--accepted policy views of prospective
superpower relations--drawn from practitioners of foreign policy,
international relations, and security affairs. A perceptual gap may exist
between physicians who wish to address underlying ethical and public health
concerns on security issues and policy practitioners who are accustomed to
discussion within existing policy frames of reference that can be
pragmatically used. A strategy is proposed for physicians to use their
specialized training and skills to evaluate trends in global health
interdependence. The international physicians' movement may contribute
substantively to the formulation of policy by expanding and interpreting an
increasingly complex database on interdependence, and by creating a
dialogue with policy formulators based on mutual recognition of the value
and legitimacy of each professions' expertise and complementary
contributions to international security policy.
