Understanding global health governance as a complex adaptive system

Abstract

The transition from international to global health reflects the rapid growth in the numbers and nature of stakeholders in health, as well as the constant change embodied in the process of globalisation itself. This paper argues that global health governance shares the characteristics of complex adaptive systems, with its multiple and diverse players, and their polyvalent and constantly evolving relationships, and rich and dynamic interactions. The sheer quantum of initiatives, the multiple networks through which stakeholders (re)configure their influence, the range of contexts in which development for health is played out – all compound the complexity of this system. This paper maps out the characteristics of complex adaptive systems as they apply to global health governance, linking them to developments in the past two decades, and the multiple responses to these changes. Examining global health governance through the frame of complexity theory offers insight into the current dynamics of governance, and while providing a framework for making meaning of the whole, opens up ways of accessing this complexity through local points of engagement.

Keywords:

• global health
• governance
• complexity theory
• systems
• complex adaptive systems

Acknowledgements

Peter Hill was part funded for the development of this paper by the European Commission through the ‘GHIs in Africa’ project (INCO-CT-2006-032371). Valued discussions with Rebecca Dodd have informed the conclusion of this paper.

Notes

1. While GPPPs reflect early nomenclature, my preferred collective title is Global Health Initiatives (GHIs).