The New Global Health Movement: Rx for the World?

World health is at a critical crossroads. Diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS ravage many parts of the globe and new diseases such as SARS, West Nile virus, and avian flu threaten to spread quickly and virulently. A new global health movement is rapidly emerging to bring medical solutions to these immense world health problems. Desirable as this goal may be there are multiple negative consequences and side effects associated with this new movement. Using a biocultural approach, this article considers the wider social and cultural complications of the global health movement and questions whether the movement can really offer an untainted Rx for the world's ills.