Context issues: regional, legal and environmental

Improving access to medicines for NCDs in Southern Africa

Joseph Mthetwa
A major strategy in reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is the provision of affordable and effective medicines. Evidence indicates that medicines for NCDs are unavailable in many countries and, in a few instances when they are available, they are largely unaffordable or of poor quality. More

Integration of HIV/STIs into primary health care in the Caribbean

Ingrid Cox-Pierre and Rudolph O. Cummings
In general, Caribbean countries have made progress in the achievement of the universal access targets on HIV treatment, prevention, care and support, but in some countries significant gaps remain. More

Health, functioning and disability: how common language and data can enhance policy making

Ros Madden, Nick Glozier, Elias Mpofu and Gwynnyth Llewellyn
Modern health systems recognise the importance of human functioning in addition to diagnosis and disease prevention. Thinking about how people manage their lives on a day-to-day basis is important in the context of chronic disease, mental health, ageing and disability. More

Climate change and public health: the role of adaptive management

Jeremy J. Hess, Julia Z. McDowell and George Luber
Climate change is expected to increase the burden of climate sensitive diseases such as heat-related illness, vector-borne disease, diarrhoeal disease, injuries from extreme events and respiratory diseases. Clearly, these impacts cross cut the communicable/non-communicable divide. More