Health
Towards victory over the vicious cycle of poverty and ill-health
The Mother-Child health training center in Bangladesh
According to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) definition, health is “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Health development encompasses all the elements that are necessary for the achievement of such a state of being. In this context, a wide variety of disciplines have some relation to health; specifically, these disciplines include epidemiology, biology, public health and medical science as well as demography, economics, and international health.
The Declaration of Alma-Ata of 1978 which introduced the concept of Primary Health Care (PHC) marked a turning point in the approach and goals of international aid in the field of health in developing countries. PHC made explicit the importance of primary health care in developing countries. In addition, it calls for prioritizing local health care needs and fully utilizing locally-available resources to provide health care services to meet those needs. This approach represents a dramatic departure from the previous goal of international aid which was to introduce health systems or models of developed countries into developing countries.
In the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2000 , three of the eight goals are directly related to health (reduction of child mortality, improvement of maternal health , and combat against HIV/AIDS malaria and other diseases). Underlying concern is the vicious cycle of poverty and ill-health in developing countries. Health is not only a result of, but also a contributing factor to, development. Poor people suffer from ill-health; at the same token, people are more likely to fall into poverty because of ill-health. Such vicious cycle of poverty and ill-health places a large burden on developing countries and hinders to development. The purpose of health development is to improve the health of individuals and to control the spread of disease, both of which are essential elements of development and poverty reduction.
Although international concern about health in developing countries is increasing, there is a chronic shortage of resources (financial, human, and material resources) to deal with such issues. The question of how to increase resources remains a major challenge for international aid for developing countries. A further challenge, in the face of limited resources, is how local health services and health systems can be improved and strengthened to provide health services that meet local needs and are accessible, particularly to those living in poverty.
In the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2000 , three of the eight goals are directly related to health (reduction of child mortality, improvement of maternal health , and combat against HIV/AIDS malaria and other diseases). Underlying concern is the vicious cycle of poverty and ill-health in developing countries. Health is not only a result of, but also a contributing factor to, development. Poor people suffer from ill-health; at the same token, people are more likely to fall into poverty because of ill-health. Such vicious cycle of poverty and ill-health places a large burden on developing countries and hinders to development. The purpose of health development is to improve the health of individuals and to control the spread of disease, both of which are essential elements of development and poverty reduction.
Although international concern about health in developing countries is increasing, there is a chronic shortage of resources (financial, human, and material resources) to deal with such issues. The question of how to increase resources remains a major challenge for international aid for developing countries. A further challenge, in the face of limited resources, is how local health services and health systems can be improved and strengthened to provide health services that meet local needs and are accessible, particularly to those living in poverty.
FY 2012/2013
Researchers
- YAMAGATA Tatsufumi (Development economics; the Bangladeshi economy; economics on infectious diseases and pharmaceuticals; the textile industry; disability and development)
- SATO Hiroshi (Development Sociology, Area Study (Yemen, Eritrea), Japanese Development Experience)
- UCHIMURA Hiroko (Development Economics, Income Distribution, Health Policy, Social Institution)
The World Bank
World Health Organization - Centre For Health Development
World Health Organization - Centre For Health Development
- OECD and WHO [2003], Poverty and Health: DAC Guidelines and Reference Series,
- Sachs, J.D./Commission on Macroeconomics and Health, WHO [2001], Macroeconomics and Health: investing in health for economic development
- WHO, Bulletin of World Health Organization
- WHO, World Health Report
- World Bank [2006], World Development Report 2006: Equity and Development
- World Bank [2004], World Development Report 2004: Making Services Work for Poor People
- World Bank [1993], World Development Report 1993: Investing in Health
- WHOSIS (WHO Statistical Information System)
- WHO National Health Accounts
- UN Millennium Development Goals Indicatora
- American Journal of Public Health
- Health Policy and Planning
- Journal of Health Economics
- Social Science and Medicine
- Behrman, J.R. and Deolalikar, A.B. [1989], Health and Nutrition, in: Chenery, H. and Srinivasan, T.N. eds. Handbook of Development Economics Volume 1, pp. 631-711, Elsevier.
- Culyer, A.J. and Newhouse, J.P. eds. [2000], Handbook of Health Economics Vol.1A, Elsevier.
- Culyer, A.J. and Newhouse, J.P. eds. [2000], Handbook of Health Economics Vol.1B, Elsevier.
- DCPP (Disease Control Priorities Project)
