The politics of intergovernmental organizations in global health

The rules and services of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) such as the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and even the World Trade Organization affect health outcomes around the globe. Health-related IGOs have grown more numerous and more powerful but also more contested. This chapter explores the role of health-related IGOs in two main sections. The first section discusses the power of IGOs in global health, focusing on their capacity for autonomous action and their authority vis-à-vis states. The second section explores dynamics of change in and between health-related IGOs. The aim of the chapter is to outline productive cross-fertilization between the global health and IGO literatures.