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Extract from Humanitarian Affairs Review,
N° 10, Summer 2000 [...] Has public health fallen off
the map? It is certainly under increasing threat as governments
pull out of national health, and privatisation spreads. Diseases,
the report says, have become ongoing disasters far more deadly
than the vagaries of the elements. In 1999, while up to 100,000
people were killed by natural disaster some 13 million died of
infectious diseases alone. Behind these figures is a story of
deteriorating primary health care in already deprived regions,
brought on not only by a shortage of resources – drained
by conflict, debt and economic marginalisation – but also
by misguided resource allocation and failed development. [...]
The world, it seems, should quickly
reconsider policy. Since 1993, our richest nations have been pruning
government spending on health, and the picture is worse in poor
countries, according to the World Disasters Report. It
cites India, where just 0.7 per cent of GDP goes to health, three
times less than is spent on the military. [...] Chapters are devoted to assessing
and targeting public health priorities; AIDS in Africa (70 per
cent of the world's HIV- positive people live south of the Sahara);
how North Korea's public health system has been brought to its
knees by years of isolation; and continued fallout from the Chernobyl
catastrophe (political isolation behind the Iron Curtain, followed
by economic crisis and poverty since it fell, have taken a heavy
toll on the health of millions affected). Many lessons are learned in the process.
One is that responding to our chronic public health crises is
beyond the capacity of humanitarian organisations alone. "International
partnerships with governments, the private sector and financial
institutions offer one way forward," the report says. "But often
overlooked are local partnerships with the communities facing
firsthand the threats of disease and endangered health. Preventive
strategies and health education at the frontline – promoted
by trained volunteers and community health workers – must
complement initiatives at an international level." Elsewhere, the new edition looks
at the "humanitarian Klondike" of Kosovo, the increase in global
aid giving, and international disaster-response law, a need, it
says, whose time has come. A familiar fat section of key statistics
that dissects disaster into who, what, where, when and how serious,
lends a skilful overview. The World Disasters Report
has become essential reference for anyone concerned with humanitarian
issues. It harnesses the expertise and resources of the International
Federation's world-wide network but other sources and contributors
are eclectic, providing a broad perspective. John Sparrow
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