Various legal approaches have been taken internationally to improve global access to essential medicines for people in developing countries. This book focuses on the millions of people suffering from AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Beginning with the AIDS campaign for antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, Sharifah Sekalala argues that a soft law approach is more effective than hard law by critiquing the current TRIPS flexibilities within the World Trade Organization. She then considers how soft law has also been instrumental in the fight against malaria and tuberculosis. Using these compelling case studies, this book explores lawmaking on global health and analyses the viability of current global health financing trends within new and traditional organisations such as the United Nations, the World Health Organization, UNAIDS, UNITAID and The Global Fund. This book is essential reading for legal, development, policy and health scholars, activists and policymakers working across political economy, policy studies and global health studies.

'The book … is an important contribution to a critical assessment of how well international law serves its purpose on the normative level. Using the global reaction to the global problems of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, the author makes a strong contribution both on theoretical and empirical levels.'

Sigrun Skogly Source: Journal of Law and Society

'In her impressive monograph Soft Law and Global Health Problems, Sharifah Sekalala offers an innovative and meticulously argued legal perspective on the struggle over intellectual property and access to essential medicines in the global south.'

John Harrington Source: Social and Legal Studies