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.
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.
Many African and Asian countries face similar health care challenges. More than half of the people in Africa go to the mostly unregulated private health care sector to get diagnosed and treated, and they pay out-of pocket. The same is true for Asia and the Pacific.
With millions of confirmed COVID-19 infections worldwide and hundreds of thousands of deaths, the search for solutions to end the impacts of COVID-19 is overpowering. Finding a safe and effective vaccine is one crucial answer to the crisis. But there is more to it.
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.
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.
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.
Immediate action is needed on climate change and we must overcome skepticism.
The issue of universal health coverage (UHC) is a hot topic these days. The WHO director general Margaret Chan calls it: “the single most powerful concept that public health has to offer”.
The recent haze caused by forest fires in Indonesia is yet another form of air pollution we increasingly suffer in Asia, where many have come to accept this public health risk as a necessary evil of urban economic growth.
The spread of the zika virus demonstrates vector-borne disease control requires more than just investing in health.