Re-interpreting the citizen consumer: alternative consumer activism and the rights to health and development

Abstract

Alternative Southern consumer activism, undertaken for example by the Consumers' Association of Penang (CAP) in Malaysia, presents significant sites of nodal governance through which local and global health rights are claimed. This alternative consumer approach distinctively integrates health with development, social justice and environmental issues. It has not always explicitly employed rights language, but consumer activism fits with rights-based approaches, emphasising entitlements, accountability and participation. This case-study traces the development of networked consumer campaigns to contest and shape global health governance. It highlights the important, yet under-researched role of Southern nodes within global networks mobilizing health rights and public health. Alternative consumer activism re-interprets the consumer as a countervailing force, collectively mobilizing citizens to claim their health rights.