Anwar Mohamed

Major Population Health Impacts of Free Trade Agreements on African Caribbean Pacific States

-Advocating for a fair trade-

Anwar Mohamed

Work requirement (4): Major policy report (Due 3 June)

The major policy report is the main opportunity for you to demonstrate knowledge and

skills in both policy analysis and policy development, although the relative balance might

vary depending on the topic.

You will choose an issue of interest to you, and identify the institutional perspective from

which you will be undertaking the exercise. Ideally, you will:

examine the historical development of the policy issue,

analyse the factors which have influenced the course of policy development and implementation (including the institutions and the actors),

consider the strengths and weaknesses (or benefits and costs) of current and/or

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proposed policy positions, and propose realistic policy improvements.

Some topics are discouraged because they have been covered extensively in policy

reports by previous student groups - each student is strongly urged to seek the advice of

the subject coordinator or a tutor in relation to the topic and the way they propose to

address the topic.

Population-based

1. Select health issue 2. identify risks 3. evaluate population risk level 4. compared need with current program 5. adjust resources 6. evaluate

Institution-based

1. Select health service 2. determine current demand 3. forecast future demand 4. compare demand with current capacity 5. adjust resources 6. evaluation

Read this ‘handy hints’ sheet in conjunction with the relevant sections of the Public Health Policy Subject Learning Guide 2011.

The task you have been set invites you to critically explore a ‘policy story’ from the perspective of a selected stakeholder.

You are required to prepare a major policy report. This provides the main opportunity for you to demonstrate your knowledge and skills in both policy analysis and policy development, although the relative balance might vary depending on the topic. Your task is to:• examine the historical development of the policy issue, • analyse the factors which have influenced the course of policy development and

implementation (including the institutions and the actors), • consider the strengths and weaknesses (or benefits and costs) of current and/or

proposed policy positions, and• propose realistic policy improvements.

Choosing a topic

You are free to choose an issue or topic of interest to you. You could, for example, choose a health-related policy released recently by the Australian government, a state government or a major health organization in an area of interest to you. Or it may be a policy that was released in the recent past that you would like to understand better. Please confirm with your tutor that your topic is suitable before proceeding.

Choose an institutional perspective from which you will analyse the policy. For example, the perspective of government (local, state or national government); a health professional

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group (eg a group representing GPs, nurses, allied health workers, health service managers) or a non-government organization (eg National Heart Foundation, Women’s Health Victoria, Salvation Army) or a group representing consumer interests (eg Consumer Health Forum).

Researching your topic

Approach:

To research your topic or issue, there are a range of questions it will be important to explore:

- What is the nature and significance of the problem?- How can the context of the policy topic or issue be characterized? (Consider

historical, epidemiological, social, political, economic, environmental, technological factors.)

If a policy has been developed around this topic or issue:- Who were the leading individuals or organisations advocating for this policy and

what were their respective positions?- What institutional structures and processes were utilized to develop the policy? - What were the main objectives of and strategies used in this policy?- Has the policy been implemented? If not, why not?- If the policy has been implemented, has it achieved its intended objectives? What

are its strengths and weaknesses (or benefits and costs)?- How could the policy be improved? (Propose some realistic alternatives.)- What policy theory/ies underpin/s your analysis? - Are there gaps and/or limitations in the application of the theory?

It may also be that a policy has NOT yet been developed (in which case you would explore the policy ‘vacuum’ related to this topic or issue and ask some of the same questions listed above to explore why a policy has not been developed at all or has not been developed in a particular jurisdiction eg an Australian state.

Resources:

A high quality report will draw on a range of resources including:- research papers and commentaries in peer reviewed journals (refer to list in Subject

Learning Guide)- textbooks (refer to list in Subject Learning Guide)- government reports- technical reports and white papers from government bodies, scientific research

groups (eg in universities), working papers/reports from committees associated with the policy process.

You may also find media reports or analyses useful to shed light on aspects of the policy process such as advocacy by various stakeholders to get a policy developed or policy impact

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evaluation by various groups. Audio recordings (such as interviews with policy protagonists in podcasts) and blogs may also be useful.

Be clear about the status and quality of the resources you use and take care to use resources appropriately. For example, one person’s opinion about the impact of an intervention is not equivalent to a systematic review of an intervention.

Writing your major policy report

You may find it helpful to frame a question to bring a focus to your policy analysis and policy development. For example: The National Male Health Policy: What difference will it make to the health of men and women in Australia?

How you structure your work requirement is up to you. You may write it as an essay or in a more structured report format. In either case, sub-headings may be useful to provide ‘sign posts’ to your content.

Major Population Health Impacts of Free Trade Agreements between African Caribbean Pacific States and The

European Union

-Advocating for a fair trade-

Contents

Introduction

Study Design

Brief History of ACP- EU Free Trade Agreements

Concept of Free Trade Agreements

Nature of ACP- EU Free Trade Agreements

Context of ACP- EU Free Trade Agreements

Situational factors Structural factors Cultural factors International or exogenous factors

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Content of ACP- EU Free Trade Agreements

Process of ACP -EU Free Trade Agreements

Current Policy Space in ACP States

Key Stakeholders

Advocates & Opponents of ACP- EU Free Trade Agreements

Key Findings/Analysis of Content, Context, Actors, and Process

1. Leadership and Governance 2. Health information systems 3. Health financing 4. Human resources for health5. Essential medical products and technologies6. Services delivery

Discussion

Strengths & Weaknesses

Recommendations

Conclusions

References

Appendices

Introduction

Study Design

Brief History of ACP- EU Free Trade Agreements

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The first was the Lome agreement in Togo, which operated for 25 years giving ACP countries great access to EU markets. Lome was replaced by the Cotonou agreement in Benin on 23 June 2000 as a consequence of the Washington consensus. In the Cotonou agreement, “European policy makers make frequent linkages between the terms ‘poverty alleviation’ (or eradication) and ‘sustainable development’ (Articles 1, 9, 19, 23, 24, 34, 73)” (Flint, 2008, p. 1).

The most important trade agreements signed by the African Caribbean Pacific countries are those signed with the European Union.

Concept of Free Trade Agreements

The general concept of free trade has a long history in civilisations; in

fact all continents viewed free trade positively. Jack Goody explains

in the ‘theft of history’ importance of trade and commerce through

history –pre shifting from antiquity to feudalism era- for economies of

Africa, Asia and Europe (Goody, 2006).

Free trade is defined by the concise encyclopaedia of economics as

“the absence of tariffs, quotas, or other governmental impediments to

international trade, allows each country to specialize in the goods it

can produce cheaply and efficiently relative to other countries. Such

specialization enables all countries to achieve higher real incomes”

(Irwin).

While free trade agreements (FTA) are defined as:

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“An international treaty which removes barriers to trade and

facilitates stronger trade and commercial ties, and increased

economic integration between participating countries”

(Australian Government).

Free trade agreements started between Canada and the USA, and

since then many other countries became interested in this type of trade

agreements. But, it was the USA that pushed for more trade

liberalization, following a series of discontent impressions of the

GATT dispute settlement results (Analytica, 1988). The GATT

operated from 1947 to 1994, and since 1995 the WTO succeeded the

GATT and became the umbrella for world free trade agreements.

However, there are free trade agreements signed outside the WTO

(World Trade Organization, 2012) (Green, 2012). In general there are

three popular types of free trade agreements:

1. Bilateral

2. Multi-lateral (run by the WTO)

3. Regional

(World Trade Organization, 2012).

Nature of ACP- EU Free Trade Agreements

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Context of ACP- EU Free Trade Agreements

Situational factors

Structural factors

Cultural factors

International or exogenous factors

Content of ACP- EU Free Trade Agreements

Today there are seven regional blocs consisting of 36 ACP countries

negotiating with the EU since early 2000. However, only the

Caribbean bloc who includes 15 members has signed the EPA deal

(ACP, 2012).

Although the WTO clearly outlines the non-reciprocity concept in its

articles, in trade negotiations between developed and developing

countries, yet it allows for economic partnership agreements EPA

(Flint, 2008) (World Trade Organization, 2012). EPAs are growing

largely between bloc partners of the developed and developing world,

such as the EU –ACP. Many fear that the EPAs will lead to a trade-

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off of health and education in developing countries in return for

access to EU markets (Flint, 2008).

Process of ACP- EU Free Trade Agreements

Current Policy Space in ACP States

Key Stakeholders

Advocates & Opponents of Free Trade Agreements

Key Findings/Analysis of Content, Context, Actors, and Process

1. Leadership and Governance

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2. Health information systems

3. Health financing

4. Human resources for health

5. Essential medical products and technologies

6. Services delivery

Discussion

Strengths and Weaknesses

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Recommendations

Conclusions

References

Appendices

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http://www.healthknowledge.org.uk/public-health-textbook/medical-sociology-policy-economics/4c-equality-equity-policy/principle-approaches-policy-formation

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http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/SPA/BuechnerInstitute/Centers/WOPPR/ACF/PublishingImages/acf_flow_diagram.jpg

http://www.afro.who.int/rdo/fotografias/gallery-2013/index.php

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Table 1

List of ACP CountriesAngola - Antigua and

Barbuda - Belize -

Cape Verde -

Comoros - Bahamas

Barbados - Benin -

Botswana - Burkina

Faso - Burundi -

Cameroon - Central

African

Republic - Chad -

Congo (Brazzaville) -

Congo (Kinshasa) -

Cook Islands - Cte

d'Ivoire

- Cuba - Djibouti -

Dominica -

Dominican Republic

- Eritrea - Ethiopia -

Fiji - Gabon

- Gambia - Ghana -

Grenada - Republic

of Guinea - Guinea-

Bissau - Equatorial

Guinea

- Guyana - Haiti -

Jamaica - Kenya -

Kiribati - Lesotho -

Liberia - Madagascar

- Malawi - Mali -

Marshall Islands -

Mauritania -

Mauritius -

Micronesia -

Mozambique

- Namibia - Nauru -

Niger - Nigeria -

Niue - Palau - Papua

New Guinea -

Rwanda

- St. Kitts and Nevis -

St. Lucia - St.

- Samoa - Sao Tome

and Principe -

- South Africa -

Sudan - Suriname -

- Tonga - Trinidad

and Tobago - Tuvalu

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Vincent and the

Grenadines -

Solomon Islands

Senegal - Seychelles

- Sierra Leone -

Somalia

Swaziland - Tanzania

- Timor Leste - Togo

- Uganda - Vanuatu -

Zambia – Zimbabwe

(African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States, 2011).

Table 2

Least-developed countries

“The WTO recognizes as least-developed countries (LDCs) those countries which have been designated as such by the United Nations. There are currently 48 least-developed countries on the UN list, 33 of which to date have become WTO members”.

AngolaBangladeshBeninBurkina FasoBurundi 

Cambodia Central African Republic ChadCongo, Democratic Republic of the

DjiboutiGambia GuineaGuinea Bissau

HaitiLesothoMadagascarMalawiMaliMauritaniaMozambiqueMyanmar

NepalNigerRwandaSamoa

TanzaniaTogoUgandaVanuatu

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SenegalSierra LeoneSolomon Islands

Zambia

“Ten more least-developed countries are negotiating to join the WTO. They are: Afghanistan,  Bhutan , Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Laos,Liberia, Sao Tomé & Principe, Sudan and Yemen ” .

“There are no WTO definitions of “developed” or “developing” countries. Developing countries in the WTO are designated on the basis of self-selection although this is not necessarily automatically accepted in all WTO bodies”

(World Trade Organization, 2012).

Table -3

Country Revenue impacts in US$Burundi -7,664,911.00DRC -24,691,828.00Ethiopia -55,126,359.00Eritrea -7,385,208.00Djibouti -37,523,124.00Kenya -107,281,328.00Madagascar -7,711,790.00Malawi -7,090,310.00Mauritius -71,117,968.00Rwanda -5,622,946.00Seychelles -24,897,374.00Zimbabwe -18,430,590.00Sudan -73,197,468.00Uganda -9,458,170.00Zambia -15,844,184.00Source: (EQUINET, 2007)

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ACP. (2012, 10 31). Home. Retrieved 11 10, 2012, from African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States: http://www.acp.int/content/mixed-progress-acp-eu-trade-agreements

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Owen, A., & Wu, S. (2007). Is Trade Good for Your Health? Review of International Economics, 660-682.

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