Public Policy and the Challenge of Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases. O. Adeyi, O. Smith and S. Robles.

Abstract

This World Bank report provides a global analysis of chronic disease and health policy, with particular emphasis on low and middle income countries. As such, it represents a welcome addition to the limited literature in this field for developing countries, and provides some counter-balance to the heavy emphasis on the three ‘killer diseases’ of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. As the report points out, in the great majority of developing countries non-communicable diseases (NCDs) already account for a higher share of mortality than the so-called ‘killer diseases’. Despite this, they have been largely overlooked by the Millennium Development Goals and by most substantial funding initiatives, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The report admits that the World Bank itself has previously failed to give NCDs sufficient priority as part of its wider activities in health and nutrition. It promises to redress this balance in future, and considers this report a key reference point for …