Poverty and inequity
"Poverty strikes me as the number one [health] issue," -- Jacki Stander, Australia
"Access to adequate health care to people with HIV/AIDS in poorer countries - especially children," -- Gillian Pelton-Saito, Japan
Many of you cited poverty - together with malnutrition - as a breeding ground for ill-health. You made the point that if people are poor because of weak economies, under-development and corruption, they are robbed of the tools they need to feed their children, fight disease, buy medicines, and build better health care systems. Many of you are also concerned with growing inequities in access to health care – including antiretroviral medicines for people living with HIV/AIDS – both in developed and developing countries.
Wherever people live, they need health services and people to deliver them. This is why WHO is dedicating The world health report and World Health Day in 2006 to finding solutions to ensure that the right health workers are in all the right places.