Fall 2009
Chronic Diseases
Heart disease, diabetes, depression – diseases of the rich, yes. But of the poor as well? It’s hard to fathom that in developing countries, which lack even the most basic health interventions, people struggle with the same chronic illnesses that plague their peers in wealthier nations.
While HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis have taken center stage, chronic diseases such as mental illness, cardiovascular disease and cancers have been sidelined. Yet according to the World Health Organization, developing countries shoulder more than 60 percent of the global burden of coronary heart disease.
As we see in this issue of GLOBAL HEALTH, chronic diseases, much like their communicable counterparts, are overarching conditions that have immense impact on the health of the population. Moreover, developing and transitional economies are less able to address these so-called “diseases of the rich.”
In countries taxed by HIV, infectious diseases, malnutrition and diarrhea, screening for depression, cancer and heart disease might not be priorities. But as the articles in this issue show, it is just as important to address non-communicable diseases if we are to improve the lives of people around the world.
The good news is that we know what to do – eat a healthier diet, increase physical activity, stop smoking. But there are even harder fixes: systems need to be put in place so that there is a greater emphasis on prevention, early screening, and treatment. This cannot happen, of course, without greater investment in strengthening health systems within countries. We need to build capacity in-country to ensure the long-term sustainability of all health interventions.
Features
Probing Health Ministries
John Donnelly on quandaries facing African health ministers
Rapid Changes in Asia Alter Health Landscape
Asia's growth is taxed heavily by urbanization, industrialization
Think Africa’s Disease Burden is HIV? Think Again
Africa acquiring diseases of the wealthy, without the wealth
North American Diseases Go South of the Border
Root causes of chronic disease are more complex than junk food and tobacco
Cancer, Silent but Intense, Threatens Systems
Pandemic tests health systems, social structures
The Killers We Ignore
Chronic illness overtakes infectious diseases
Kiev Diary: TB, AIDS and Junkies
Seeing IDUs through new eyes
Online Exclusives
Cool Escapes
How to take great photos from the field
Going Viral
Dim Sum
A collection of film picks, book reviews, and other items of note
Field Notes
Middle East wrestles with mental health challenges
