Complementarity in Public Health Systems: Using Redundancy as a Tool of Public Health Governance

Abstract

Redundant systems exist throughout legal systems and permeate public health governance. Scholars, lawmakers, and policy-makers often consider this redundancy to be a pernicious indicator of inefficiency and waste in public health systems, and seek reforms to minimize or eliminate overlapping institutions. Yet redundancy has countervailing values that may overcome these concerns. Analyzing the benefits of overlapping networks of governance, this article explores the positive aspects of complementarity in public health law as a tool to expand capacity and systemic resiliency; augment innovation in policy and practice; promote accountability and transparency; and foster the development of normative and procedural harmonization and consistency conducive to improving public health.