This paper questions the current methodology that is widely used to assess progress in implementing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a methodology that asks whether or not the targets are likely to be met. The paper demonstrates that the appropriate question should be whether more is being done to live up to that commitment, resulting in faster progress. It notes that the MDGs have led to an unprecedented mobilisation of the United Nations system and the international community, yet the results show that there has not been a post-MDG acceleration of improvement in most countries for most indicators, and that many countries have in fact regressed. The critical question for MDG implementation is to understand where and why progress has accelerated and why and where it hasn’t gone faster. The authors conclude that global goals are normative commitments that can be used in development policy as normative priorities, and that using them as planning targets, particularly at the national level, can be highly misleading.
Equity in Health
The 2014 Human Development Report— Sustaining Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience—looks at two concepts which are both interconnected and immensely important to securing human development progress. As successive Human Development Reports (HDRs) have shown, most people in most countries have been doing steadily better in human development. Advances in technology, education and incomes hold ever-greater promise for longer, healthier, more secure lives. But there is also a widespread sense of precariousness in the world today—in livelihoods, in personal security, in the environment and in global politics. High achievements on critical aspects of human development, such as health and nutrition, can quickly be undermined by a natural disaster or economic slump. Theft and assault can leave people physically and psychologically impoverished. Corruption and unresponsive state institutions can leave those in need of assistance without recourse. Based on analysis of the available evidence, the Report makes a number of important recommendations for achieving a world which addresses vulnerabilities and builds resilience to future shocks. It calls for universal access to basic social services, especially health and education; stronger social protection, including unemployment insurance and pensions; and a commitment to full employment, recognizing that the value of employment extends far beyond the income it generates. It examines the importance of responsive and fair institutions and increased social cohesion for building community-level resilience and for reducing the potential for conflict to break out.
Inequalities in human development are a roadblock to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. They are not just about disparities in income and wealth and cannot be accounted for simply by using summary measures of inequality that focus on a single dimension. This 2019 Report explores inequalities in human development by going beyond income, beyond averages and beyond today. It asks what forms of inequality matter and what drives them, recognizing that pernicious inequalities are generally better thought of as a symptom of broader problems in a society and economy. It also asks what policies can tackle those drivers—policies that can simultaneously help nations to grow their economies, improve human development and reduce inequality.
As a rising number of HIV/AIDS patients turn to already over-stretched public sector facilities, the ongoing humanitarian crisis is undermining the quality of care in Southern Africa's health system. Two years after committing themselves to respond to the humanitarian emergency, health ministers from the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) are now faced with "vicious and destructive spirals" of rising HIV/AIDS deaths and deepening poverty, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa said in a statement.
House International Relations Committee Chair Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) yesterday introduced a bill to authorize more than $1 billion to fight HIV/AIDS internationally and initiate a $50 million pilot program for AIDS treatment, part of "a comprehensive strategy to combat the global pandemic," the Washington Times reports.
The aim of this study was to develop a model for identifying areas at high risk for sporadic measles outbreaks based on an analysis of factors associated with a national outbreak in South Africa between 2009 and 2011. Data on cases occurring before and during the national outbreak were obtained from the South African measles surveillance programme, and data on measles immunisation and population size, from the District Health Information System. Model projections were used to identify emerging high-risk areas in 2012. A clear spatial pattern of high-risk areas was noted, with many interconnected (i.e. neighbouring) areas. An increased risk of measles outbreak was significantly associated with both the preceding build-up of a susceptible population and population density. The risk was also elevated when more than 20% of infants in a populous area had missed a first vaccine dose. The model was able to identify areas at high risk of experiencing a measles outbreak in 2012 and where additional preventive measures could be undertaken. In conclusion, the South African measles outbreak was associated with the build-up of a susceptible population (owing to poor vaccine coverage), high prevalence of HIV infection and high population density. The predictive model developed could be applied to other settings susceptible to sporadic outbreaks of measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
Immunization at the global level has progressed very well during the past 25 years, but further increases in coverage would save the lives of millions more who do not yet benefit from this protection, said a group of immunization partners at the World Vaccine Congress in Lyon, France. This conclusion was drawn after an analysis of the latest immunization global data. The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, with financial support from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conduct world-wide monitoring and work closely with Ministries of Health to produce estimates of immunization coverage each year.
This study investigated the association between precipitation patterns and cholera outbreaks and the preventative roles of drainage networks against outbreaks in Lusaka, Zambia. Data was collected on 6,542 registered cholera patients in the 2003–2004 outbreak season and on 6,045 cholera patients in the 2005–2006 season. Correlations between monthly cholera incidences and amount of precipitation were examined. The distribution pattern of the disease was analysed by a kriging spatial analysis method. The association between drainage networks and cholera cases was analyzed with regression analysis. The study found that increased precipitation was associated with the occurrence of cholera outbreaks, and insufficient drainage networks were statistically associated with cholera incidences. Insufficient coverage of drainage networks elevated the risk of cholera outbreaks. Integrated development is required to upgrade high-risk areas with sufficient infrastructure for a long-term cholera prevention strategy.
A coalition of UK and European investment funds with $943 billion under management are calling on pharmaceutical companies to take swift steps to ensure that poor countries have access to essential medicines. As major pharmaceutical company shareholders, the pension funds are concerned that the value of their investments will decline. If the companies fail to address criticisms over patents and pricing, they will face greater regulation that could ultimately damage profits and also face more comprehensive threats to the current global patent system, in the view of some investors.
The Western Cape provincial government initiated the collaborative Burden of Disease (BOD) Reduction Project to reduce its burden of disease and promote equity in health. This shift in thinking from facilities to a population-based approach to health demonstrates increased awareness about the crucial role of upstream factors on population health. Several lessons may be learnt from the Western Cape experience with mortality surveillance. Identifying health priorities is important, like leading causes of premature mortality such as HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis, homicides and road traffic injuries. Identifying inequities must be done in line with the recommendations of the World Health Organization Commission on Social Determinants of Health to monitor health inequities. Government also needs to start evaluating priority health programmes. Providing accessible information for policy makers is also crucial, as well as advocating for an intersectoral response, such as improving living conditions with the involvement from other sectors such as housing, water and sanitation.