Ethical tensions in dealing with noncommunicable diseases globally

by Sridhar Venkatapuram, Martin McKee, David Stuckler

“…..Noncommunicable diseases pose an increasingly high burden of disease that threatens economic and social development, yet cost-effective health interventions exist."

15th February 2012 • comment

Spotlight on Global Health Governance - National and Global Responsibilities for Health

by Lawrence O Gostin, Mark Heywood, Gorik Ooms, Anand Grover, John-Arne Røttingen, Wang Chenguang

This article is available for free from the Bulletin of the World Health Organization.Lawrence O. Gostin et al., National and Global Responsibilities for Health (Editorial), 88 Bulletin of the World Health Organization 719-20 (October, 2010), available at: http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/88/10/10-082636.pdf Preventable and treatable injuries and diseases are overwhelming sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian subcontinent and other impoverished areas of the world. Every year, 8 million children die before they reach the age of 5, more than 300 000 women die in pregnancy or childbirth, and more than 4 million people die of AIDS, malaria, or tuberculosis. By 2005, 80% of deaths from noncommunicable diseases were in developing countries. Healthy life expectancy in Africa is 45 years, a full quarter-century less than in high-income countries.

20th June 2011 • comment

This article is available online, free of charge from: The Lancet, Volume 375, Issue9725, Pages 1504 - 1505, 1 May 2010   See: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2810%2960065-7/fulltext   Health has special meaning and importance to individuals and communities. WHO's Constitution states that “the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health” is a fundamental human right. International law, moreover, requires states to guarantee the right to health. The UN has specified the norms and obligations of the right to health, and appointed a Special Rapporteur.

20th June 2011 • comment