This text deals with violence against women (VAW) as a scientific and practical object of Health. It is a theoretical and critical reflection related to historical processes that show convergences and distances between the approach of this violence as an issue and the health field particularities, creating contemporary conquests and challenges especially to Public Health. The text debates inter...

During the 20th century, the health and life expectancy of persons residing in the United States improved dramatically. Since 1900, the average lifespan of persons in the United States has lengthened by >30 years; 25 years of this gain are attributable to advances in public health. To highlight these advances, MMWR will profile 10 public health achievements (see box) in a series of reports publ...

At the beginning of the 20th century, for every 1000 live births, six to nine women in the United States died of pregnancy-related complications, and approximately 100 infants died before age 1 year (1,2). From 1915 through 1997, the infant mortality rate declined greater than 90% to 7.2 per 1000 live births, and from 1900 through 1997, the maternal mortality rate declined almost 99% to less th...

mayor and aldermen of the city of London put into place a set of orders " concerning the infection of the plague, " which was then sweeping through the population. He intended that these actions would be " very expedient for preventing and avoiding of infection of sickness " (1). At that time, London faced a public health crisis, with an inadequate scientific base in that the role of rats and t...

Public health is an important area of health care that reflects the readiness of the state and society to provide the welfare of all citizens through the promotion of health and the preservation of a healthy environment - factors that directly affect the health of the population. The field of public health is very broad and its concept is changing over time, being defined in a narrower and wide...

The Honourable Agnes Binagwaho MD PhD has been the Minister for Health of the Republic of Rwanda since 2011. With extensive professional clinical experience as a paediatrician, she seems to be the ideal Minister of Health and her achievements thus far have proved this. Just recently in 2015, the Honourable Minister was awarded the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation’s Roux Prize, the lar...

Background There have been various consultations on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by different groups. However, even if it is clear that the health sector has led the development success of the MDGs, only a few MDG reports consider public health experts' points of view and these are mainly government driven. Designs The World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) has execut...