Is the Medicine You Take Effective and Safe?
Low-quality antibiotics—combined with over-prescription and poor compliance by patients—have led to antimicrobial resistance worldwide, one of the biggest public health threats in human history.
What We’ve Learned from Ebola
Ebola was a wake-up call for countries and the wider international aid community that have not invested enough in strengthening health systems. The outbreak has shown that we need to improve the way we manage outbreak responses, and that more needs to be done to prepare us for pandemics.
Why AIDS Funding Stands at a Crossroads in Asia and Pacific
The Asia Pacific region has scored many successes in its march to reverse the HIV and AIDS epidemic in a number of countries, starting with Thailand, Cambodia, and India.
What Can We Learn from Eradication of Smallpox?
The eradication of smallpox has been a great public health success over the last 30 or 40 years or so. Smallpox was responsible for 300 million–500 million deaths during the 20th century.
Ten Steps Toward Achieving Universal Health Coverage
When ADB recently hosted a conference on using information and communication technology (ICT) in universal health coverage, it was vital not to miss the opportunity to pin down practical steps that participants could commit to taking in their own workplace. The conference culminated in the iCTen Steps: practical next steps with both quick wins and some longer-term goals that can be adapted to specific country settings, regardless of where they are on the road to universal health coverage.
ICT Helping Countries Move Toward Universal Health Coverage
ICT can bridge the gap between existing health systems and universal health coverage, but it’s a complex process and every country has its own challenges.
Move Away from HIV and AIDS? Not Quite Yet!
As we mark today World AIDS Day, we can reflect that there is so much more that remains to be done on combating HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific.
MERS - Are We at Risk of an Emerging Pandemic?
The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, or MERS-CoV, (MERS) is keeping infectious diseases experts on alert lately, although the World Health Organization (WHO) hasn’t declared MERS a global emergency.
Why are More Women Dying in Childbirth in Indonesia?
As the world marks International Day of Action for Women's Health, maternal deaths are an uncomfortable reminder that much work still needs to be done. Indonesia is a case in point. While it is one of the fast growing economic powerhouses in Asia it is also experiencing a worrying rise in maternal deaths.
New Health Hope for India's Urban Poor
The continued urban boom across Asia and the Pacific offers a host of exciting new opportunities for the region but it also presents huge challenges― not least in the critical field of health.