Securing a Healthier Future in a Changing World
By Dr. Margaret Chan
In sub-Saharan Africa, the risk of a woman dying during pregnancy and childbirth is nearly four hundred times greater than it is in Japan, a country that has one of the lowest rates of maternal and childhood deaths in the world.
This is the starkest statistic in public health: the difference in mortality rates between rich and poor countries. There are many more health inequities within and between countries, and the differences in life expectancy, health outcomes, and access to care are greater today than at any other time in recent history. A world that is greatly out of balance is neither stable nor secure. And there are other ominous trends, linked to the world’s unprecedented interdependence. All around the globe, health is being shaped by the same powerful forces.
