The struggle for health: Medicine and the politics of underdevelopment

Abstract

This iconic book has had a significant influence in providing students of public health, health professionals in training, and health and development activists, amongst others, with a new perspective on health and development. It answers the questions that preoccupy the concerned health or development worker, as well as the general public-why do people, especially children, still die in large numbers throughout the world, from wholly preventable diseases? Why is it that appropriate provision for health care is not available to every individual in the world? What changes can be made to improve this situation? This book provides an accessible and deeply insightful analysis of the impact of the economic and political forces that shape the population health outcomes of communities, in particular the health of the world's poor within and across countries. It investigates the impact of poverty and underdevelopment on people's lives as a root cause of ill-health. It calls on health care workers to expand their work beyond only providing medical care, and to also focus on addressing the social determinants of health and issues of social justice. Comprehensive Primary Health Care, community health workers and civil society activist groups are championed as solutions.