Over half of the world’s population lives in cities and United Nations (UN) demographers project an increase of 2.5 billion more urban dwellers by 2050. Yet there is too little systematic comparative research on the practice of urban health policy and management (HPAM), particularly in the megacities of middle-income and developing nations. We make a case for creating a global database on citie...

It is often wondered as to what part of all the research performed around the globe actually leaves the lab and reaches the real people and betters their lives. In case of Professor David W. Denning's research, a large part does. As a prominent international face in the field of medical mycology, he translates his research into clinical applications and takes medical problems back to his lab, i...

Throughout history, humanity has been blighted by epidemics of communicable diseases that medical science and public policy have, to varying degrees, been able to control. Sanitation, immunisation, mosquito nets, and antimicrobial agents are examples of developments that have helped to generate substantial reductions in incidence of and mortality from cholera, dysentery, smallpox, measles, HIV,...

Regional Income Inequality in Selected Large Countries Income inequality can be measured at different levels of aggregation such as global, continental, international and national levels. Here we consider income inequality at the national level but the focus is on the within country regional inequality. Regional inequality in income distribution in a selection of large countries measured by the...

On which of the battles not yet won should we focus attention when reviewing the global response to the challenge of cancer? Prevention and successful treatment are possible for many of the cancers that kill poor people of all ages globally. But to respond to this opportunity, we fi rst need to dispel the myths that surround cancer and poverty. Between 1990 and 2010 the global burden of disease...

Hypertension is a chronic disease with global prevalence and incidence rapidly increasing in low and medium income countries. The surveillance of cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension, is a global health priority in order to estimate the burden and trends, to appropriately direct resources, and to measure the effect of interventions. We propose here that the adoption of Western life...

The aims of this study were to quantify and describe the variations in respiratory symptoms and diagnosis prevalence across regions of the world according to national income. In 2002 and 2003, the World Health Organization implemented the World Health Survey (WHS), which used a standardised survey instrument to compile comprehensive baseline information on health and healthcare expenditure. We ...

Two decades ago, 93% of the world’s poor lived in countries officially classified as Low Income (LICs). Now, 72% of the world’s poor live in Middle Income Countries (MICs). The dramatic shift has been brought about by fast growth in a number of countries with large populations. On present trends, the poor in the MICs are likely to make up a substantial proportion of global poor for many years t...

Four points are made about globalization and health. First, economic integration is a powerful force for raising the incomes of poor countries. In the past 20 years several large developing countries have opened up to trade and investment, and they are growing well — faster than the rich countries. Second, there is no tendency for income inequality to increase in countries that open up. The hig...