Publications

Explore our latest reports

These resources provide evidence-based perspectives on some of the most pressing global issues.

For a deeper overview of why we focus on these areas, visit campaign issues.

Root causes of poor health:

Changing track: putting people before corporations (2018)

Governments divert $1 trillion annually from people and public services towards large corporations. Our briefing outlines why governments need to put people before corporations.

The alternatives: approaches towards a life in full  (2018)

A report exploring evidence from a range of countries which have – to varying extents – successfully promoted inclusive development or indeed, alternatives to Western ideas of development itself (market fundamentalism).

Reclaiming internationalism (2018)

We need a new vision for development with a focus on ending the root causes of global poverty and inequality. We must ensure that we look beyond Britain’s borders to build a world which works for the many, not the few.

Honest accounts (2014)

A detailed look at how the rest of the world is extracting wealth from countries in Africa. Honest accounts 2: Africa’s billion-dollar losses (2017) shares updated figures on wealth extraction from countries in Africa.

Health and taxation (2015)

Tax is a fundamental issue for health. The theft of tax revenue denies people their right to health. How can progressive taxation support health systems in the Global South?

Drug policy:

Why do we need drug policy reform?

Revealing the Missing Link to Climate Justice: Drug Policy (2023)

A ground-breaking report from the International Coalition on Drug Policy Reform and Environmental Justice brings together evidence that reveals how the system of drug prohibition – the so-called war on drugs – is undermining climate action.

Punishing poverty – how the failed ‘war on drugs’ harms vulnerable communities (2019)

How does the failed ‘war on drugs’ perpetuate the vicious cycle of poverty? The unequal targeting of marginalised communities through drug policing is so significant that in some areas these policies are perceived as being intentionally utilised for the social control of marginalised populations. The report looks specifically at case studies in Brazil and India.

The hidden opioid crisis – how the so-called ‘war on drugs’ leaves patients to die in pain (2019)

Looking at the impact of drug prohibition on access to essential opioid pain relief, such as morphine, in three Indian states.

Cannabis: Regulate it. Tax it. Support the NHS. Promote public health (2018)

The potential benefits of regulating cannabis are significant. There would be the tax income which we would be able to spend on vital public services. There would also be wider benefits for public health, consumers, the NHS, producers, (ex)-offenders, the criminal justice system, and by extension our whole society.

Drug policy and the sustainable development goals (2015)

The so-called ‘war on drugs’ has not only failed, but it is also undermining efforts to tackle poverty, improve access to health, protect the environment, reduce violence, and protect the human rights of some of the most marginalised communities worldwide. The development sector must engage seriously with the issue of drug policy to address these impacts.

Casualties of war: how the war on drugs is harming the world’s poorest (2015)

“Drugs may have killed many people, but I maintain that wrong governmental policies have killed many more. And we need to rethink.” Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan

Building legal regulation that works for everyone

Legal Regulation through a Social Justice Lens (2021)

Drug policy is changing. This is a good thing, and long overdue. We have identified 15 key priorities to be included in legal regulation policy that will directly impact and strengthen sustainable development and global equity.

Building a 21st Century Approach to Drugs (2018)

The ‘war on drugs’ is collapsing. Now is the time to build a new evidence-based approach to drugs both in the UK and globally that puts people’s health and wellbeing first. Read our recommendations on building an alternative system.

Comms tools:

A practical guide for communicating global justice and solidarity (2019)

Our toolkit outlines how to address the root causes of poverty and build global solidarity through our communications. Also available in French guide pratique pour communiquer sur la justice globale et la solidarité (2019), and Dutch een praktische gids voor communicatie over mondiale rechtvaardigheid en solidariteit (2019).

Principles for communicating global justice and solidarity (2019)

Download and display our poster outlining the key principles to remember when preparing any communications.

A guide to communication pitfalls (2019)

Download and display this poster to remind you of the common pitfalls to avoid in your communications.

Education:

Lesson plan (2020)

Download the lesson plan for sixth form teachers on ‘Global Poverty and its colonial roots’.

PowerPoint slides (2020)

Download the PowerPoint slides for our lesson on ‘Global Poverty and its colonial roots’.

Leaflet for students (2020)

Download the leaflet for sixth form students to accompany our lesson on ‘Global Poverty and its colonial roots’.

Further reading (2020)

Download the further reading resource for sixth form students to accompany our lesson on ‘Global Poverty and its colonial roots’.

Trade:

Trading up for Health: How to prevent trade deals from undermining health (2019)

Read our report about the risks post-Brexit trade deals could have on our health and the alternatives that could help avoid them.

Health and Trade (2015)

The global trade system poses a range of direct threats to health and development, as well as having a significant impact on wider determinants to health.

Changing the trade system means stopping trade agreements which pose a threat to health; challenging the power imbalances thorough reform of the global institutions; and rejecting the persistent obsession with growth, towards a focus on what really matters – human wellbeing.

Health systems:

Indigenous women’s maternal health and maternal mortality (2015)

A fact sheet on indigenous women’s maternal health commissioned by UNFPA and written by Health Poverty Action and Minority Rights Group.

Healthy revenues: how the extractives industry can support Universal Health Coverage in Sierra Leone (2015)

A report about how greater tax revenue from the extractives industry in Sierra Leone can help to fund healthcare.

Aid in reverse: the UK’s responsibility to address the health workforce crisis (2013)

A short briefing based on The Health Worker Crisis report.

“The migration of health workers has had devastating effects on health across Africa. Health centres can’t open, vaccines can’t be administered, and people are denied basic care. Let’s be clear: people die due to this health worker crisis. Countries that rely on African health workers must acknowledge the impact of their actions.” Dr Tadesse Kassaye Woldetsadik, Health Poverty Action

Killing us with hunger: Indigenous perspectives on nutrition, food aid and food sovereignty in the central Amazon of Peru (2013)

This report looks at the problems with food aid in Peru, and how to work towards a food sovereignty solution.

Policy makers have tended to rely on market-led solutions to food security propped up by food aid programmes to reach the most vulnerable. But indigenous communities criticise these programmes for their lack of participation; failure to be culturally appropriate; poor quality of the food; and ultimately for creating food aid dependency rather than providing long-term sustainable solutions. Health Poverty Action is working with indigenous people and other marginalised groups to support them in their efforts towards self-sufficiency and ultimately food sovereignty.

Every mother counts: reporting data by ethnicity (2013)

Examining the lack of statistical information around the health outcomes of women from Indigenous and other marginalised ethnic and cultural groups within developing countries. This report is part of our ‘Mothers on the Margins’ campaign to improve Indigenous women’s maternal health but goes beyond it to call for disaggregated data for all indigenous people and those from cultural minorities such as pastoralist communities in Africa.