Global Health

Health Policy Reform: Global Health versus private profit.

John Lister, Libri Publishing  www.libripublishing.co.uk  London

Paperback • ISBN: 978 1 907471 78 0 • 360pp • 228 x 152mm

£25.00, €30.00, US$ 40.00, C$ 40.00

Press release

New book dissects global health reforms

“As a journalist by trade I always want to get the most up to date, accurate and readable account across, to make people aware of the policies that are being promoted in our name by politicians at home and abroad.

“I have always wanted to see a serious, critical analysis of health policy reform, to give an overview of what is happening and put specific issues in context.

“This is my best shot at doing just that.  I hope it makes many more people aware, angry and active – if we can achieve that, we can start to reverse some of the damage that is being done.”

So says John Lister, one of the leading advocates of equity-oriented, rights-based approaches to the design and operation of health systems, in both rich and poor countries alike.

John Lister’s book ‘Health Policy Reform: Driving the Wrong Way’, published in 2005, was hailed as ‘the definitive critique of market-oriented health care ‘reforms’ that the World Bank has been promoting at least since 1993’. Now Libri Publishing is pleased to announce the publication of his completely revised and restructured analysis of health policy, ‘Health Policy Reform: Global Health versus Private Profit’. In this, John Lister brings his critique of health policy up-to-date. He continues to question whether the major 'reforms' which have been, and are still being, introduced are driven primarily by the health needs of the wider population or, in fact, by non-health considerations - the financial and political concerns of governments and global institutions.   

John Lister’s writings fill a gap in the literature covering the recent history of healthcare provision and are unique in their global scope. In Health Policy Reform: Global Health versus Private Profit’ Lister presents the key issues facing health professionals today. He produces a consistent and coherent critical analysis of different situations in different countries, making his approach wholly unlike those of previous, less comprehensive studies. With extensive evidence and over 60 pages of references, the book is essential reading for clinicians and administrators alike, as well as for all students of health policy and management.

Colin Leys, emeritus professor of political studies Queen’s University, Canada, and joint author The Plot Against the NHS says of ‘Health Policy Reform: Global Health versus Private Profit’

“Lister’s knowledge of the literature, lucid reasoning and clean prose are a class act. This is a major achievement which everyone interested in health needs to read.”

Martin McKee CBE, Professor of European Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine says:

“John Lister takes on the narrative being peddled by the new global elite and their cheerleaders who are mounting a sustained attack on what remains of the welfare state, with health care as one of their prime targets. Lister shows that there is an alternative, but it is up to us to seize it.”

If you would like a review copy of Health Policy Reform: Global Health versus Private Profit please contact Pat Graham atPat.Graham@libripublishing.co.uk or telephone 07540125926.