Great and increasing inequities exist between the peoples of the Third World and those of the First. As well, we find ourselves threatened by imminent environmental catastrophes largely as a result of trying to maintain such inequities. This clear and straightforward text explains the complex origins of such bodies as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and others, and demonstrates the extent to which they exacerbate the problem. The situation is now so grave that we can no longer afford the luxury of leaving it to the professionals. We are all involved. We find ourselves hearing daily news reports of wars, starvation, the HIV/AIDS pandemic and natural disasters, rendered worse by inadequate international responses. The United Nations, once seen as an effective arbiter and mediator in such matters, now finds itself unable to exercise authority adequately. Third World Health: hostage to First World Wealth adopts a positive approach and puts forward various ways in which people at all levels can become more involved. It addresses the pivotal issue of health in the Third World and argues that it is very much hostage to the globalization of trade by and for the benefit of First World agencies.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), once thought to be confined primarily to industrialized nations, has emerged as a major health threat in developing countries. Cardiovascular disease now accounts for nearly 30 percent of deaths in low and middle income countries each year, and is accompanied by significant economic repercussions. Yet most governments, global health institutions, and development agencies have largely overlooked CVD as they have invested in health in developing countries. Recognizing the gap between the compelling evidence of the global CVD burden and the investment needed to prevent and control CVD, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) turned to the IOM for advice on how to catalyze change. In this report, the IOM recommends that the NHLBI, development agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and governments work toward two essential goals: creating environments that promote heart healthy lifestyle choices and help reduce the risk of chronic diseases, and building public health infrastructure and health systems with the capacity to implement programs that will effectively detect and reduce risk and manage CVD. To meet these goals, the IOM recommends several steps, including improving cooperation and collaboration; implementing effective and feasible strategies; and informing efforts through research and health surveillance. Without better efforts to promote cardiovascular health, global health as a whole will be undermined.

This work presents the broad lines of the action and evolution of the World Health Organization (WHO). It identifies some of the problems WHO has had to face in the past, and will have to confront in the future. It discusses in detail the historical origins, WHO's objectives and the evolution of its strategy and programmes. It reviews its structures as well as the problems raised by its decentralization. It examines the Organization's action in the field of technical cooperation and looks into several of WHO's more important past and present programmes. In its general conclusion, it attempts to envisage the future of the Organization. The present study is based essentially on the official documentation of the WHO, open and restricted. The strength of this book lies in the personal experience of the main author, a former WHO official, who has orientated the book's research in specific directions and has added some complementary information.

Focusing on universal public health issues, this book introduces students and practitioners to behaviour change theories and applications. It details experiences of successful programmes for the prevention and control of the world's biggest killers and explores health communication and social marketing strategies, learning theory, media advocacy and community development.

Readership: Geneticists and clinicians worldwide in addition to graduate students and researchers interested in populations and genomics

Reports on the burden of mental and behaviourl disorders and the cost in humna, social and economic terms.