Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries

Excerpt

DCP2 is a comprehensive, 1440-page resource that provides an updated "checkup" for global health and health care. As part of the "health examination," DCP2 asked: What progress has been made in defining and reducing the global burden of disease? How much have countries accomplished in developing and providing efficient, effective, and equitable health care? How can they set and achieve priorities in health services? Once these countries have identified the priorities, how can they deliver interventions to the targeted population in the most cost-effective manner? How can the efforts of the health and closely related sectors (such as nutrition, agriculture, water and sanitation, and education) be integrated to optimize health improvements?

DCP2's answers contribute substantially to global initiatives to improve the health of all peoples by providing a multidisciplinary understanding of these fundamental issues and challenges, as well as effective interventions for the range of communicable and noncommunicable diseases and conditions and risk factors.

Underlying all medical and economic analyses is the appreciation of the need to strengthen health systems so that they can provide highly cost-effective interventions on a large scale. Applying the information, analysis, and strategies set out in DCP2 requires a careful assessment of the local situation, including patterns of disease, institutional capacity, and resources. Combining insights from DCP2 and knowledge of their local situation, actors at many levels—from parliamentarians and health ministers to hospital administrators, health care workers, and concerned citizens—will be able to set priorities, select appropriate interventions, devise better means of delivery, improve management, and be more effective in mobilizing resources. In this manner, the benefits of technical progress in improving health can be extended and shared by all.