Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper will focus (a) on the contributions of global public-private partnerships in the health sector to governance by and in the south and (b) on the relationship between network regulation and two alternative modes of governance, namely public and private regulation. The most prominent form of network governance are global public-private partnerships (GPPPs). In the health sector we meanwhile observe more than 100 GPPPs that aim at influencing the global agenda, developing new drugs and vaccines, facilitating the access to drugs and medical equipment, and at financing the fight against specific diseases. The paper will give an overview of these various types of GPPPs and provide a more detailed insight into the structures of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis und Malaria (GF), the most prominent and with a volume of nearly 3.5 billion US dollars also financially most important GPPP in Global Health Governance. The degree of participation of southern state and non-state actors in the governance of the GF at global and national level and the interplay of interests, power relations, conflicts and synergies in the activities of the GF will be given particular consideration. The second part of the paper looks at the connection of GPPPs and especially the GF with regulation by other public and private actors in Global Health Governance, such as multilateral institutions (WHO, UNAIDS), bilateral agencies, pharmaceutical companies and NGOs. It will be argued that although network regulation has expanded during the last decade, public regulation in particular continues to play an important role. New forms of governance like GPPPs do by no means substitute traditional modes of regulation, but offer an alternative institutional option to mediate between interests and to negotiate conflicts. GPPPs therefore may under certain circumstances contribute to a better integration of actors of the south and to the empowerment of weak actors. Since they may also be used by powerful actors of the north to pursue their interests, we should however be careful not to overestimate the potential of GPPPs.