Globalization and Infectious Diseases

This article discusses the nature of the health challenges created by globalization and proposes new forms of international cooperation to confront them. The discussion of global health challenges includes both the transfer of health risks, with an emphasis on infectious diseases, and the international dissemination of health opportunities, including the transfer of knowledge and technology. The authors argue that the health-related challenges and opportunities of an increasingly interdependent world demand new forms of international cooperation. The authors suggest the promotion of 3 elements that, in their essence, contain the idea of collaboration: exchange, evidence, and empathy.