This publication is the result of a collaborative effort between the Pan American Health Organization and the WHO Collaborating Center for International Health at the University of Texas Medical Branch. The chapters are based on the proceedings from a seminarworkshop held in Galveston Texas in 1998. The objective of this forum was to examine the impact of the economic globalization process and technological change on health trends in the Region of the Americas and even more specifically to explore how civil society groups can influence the formulation of healthy public policies and monitor equity in terms of both the health situation and the distribution of health care resources. This publication addresses a wide range of issues affecting health in the global economy including various types of economic organization and potential dangers the world faces as a new century begins. It centers on experiences opportunities and risks in the Americas and on the value of health in human development and of international and regional integration processes in the formulation of a new global economy. It includes articles analyzing the impact of economic reform policies on health in general as well as monographs written from the perspective of civil society groups in specific countries. The variety of viewpoints and lessons learned in this publication will be of use to decision-makers health and development experts and emerging civil society groups in Latin America and the Caribbean and can guide them in better addressing the enormous risks facing all sectors of society as a result of globalization by enabling them to take advantage of the tremendous potential this process affords.