World Health Report 2003

"We have a real opportunity now to make progress that will mean longer healthier lives for millions of people.

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The world is living dangerously - either because it has little choice or because it is making the wrong choices -- Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland WHO Director-General

The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in late 2002 and 2003 challenged the global public health community to confront a novel epidemic that spread rapidly from its origins in southern China until it had reached more than 25 other countries within a matter of months. In addition to the number of patients infected with the SARS virus, the disease had profound economic and political repercussions in many of the affected regions. Recent reports of isolated new SARS cases and a fear that the disease could reemerge and spread have put public health officials on high alert for any indications of possible new outbreaks. This report examines the response to SARS by public health systems in individual countries, the biology of the SARS coronavirus and related coronaviruses in animals, the economic and political fallout of the SARS epidemic, quarantine law and other public health measures that apply to combating infectious diseases, and the role of international organizations and scientific cooperation in halting the spread of SARS. The report provides an illuminating survey of findings from the epidemic, along with an assessment of what might be needed in order to contain any future outbreaks of SARS or other emerging infections.

The global burden of disease: 2004 update is a comprehensive assessment of the health of the world's population. It provides detailed global and regional estimates of premature mortality, disability and loss of health for 135 causes by age and sex, drawing on extensive WHO databases and on information provided by Member States.--Publisher description.

"The Nation has lost sight of its public health goals and has allowed the system of public health to fall into 'disarray'," from The Future of Public Health. This startling book contains proposals for ensuring that public health service programs are efficient and effective enough to deal not only with the topics of today, but also with those of tomorrow. In addition, the authors make recommendations for core functions in public health assessment, policy development, and service assurances, and identify the level of government--federal, state, and local--at which these functions would best be handled.

This volume explores the evolving relationship between health and security in today's interdependent world, and offers policy guidelines for effective global health action. The 15 chapters in this volume represent invited contributions from distinguished leaders in global health, commissioned by Harvard University's Global Equity Initiative, a research unit supporting the work of the international Commission on Human Security.

The World Health Statistics series is WHO's annual compilation of health statistics for its 194 Member States. The World Health Statistics 2016focuses on the health and health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and associated targets. It represents an initial effort to bring together available data on SDG health and health-related indicators, providing an assessment of the situation in 2016. The SDG health goal -- ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages -- includes 13 targets, covering all major health priorities, and including the unfinished and expanded Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agenda, four targets to address noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), mental health, injuries and environmental issues, and four "means of implementation" targets. This report also seeks to demonstrate the critical linkages between health and other SDGs by including indicators of selected health determinants and risk factors in other SDG targets. The series is produced by the WHO Department of Information, Evidence and Research, of the Health Systems and Innovation Cluster. As in previous years, World Health Statistics 2016 has been compiled using publications and databases produced and maintained by WHO technical programs and regional offices. WHO presents World Health Statistics 2016as an integral part of its ongoing efforts to provide enhanced access to comparable high-quality statistics on core measures of population health and national health systems. Unless otherwise stated, all estimates have been cleared following consultation with Member States and are published here as official WHO figures.