What is truly needed, and
which richer countries instinctively (although not always
adequately) do for their own citizens, is to meet what I call “basic
survival needs.” By focusing on the major determinants of health,
the international community could dramatically improve prospects for
good health. Basic survival needs include sanitation and sewage,
pest control, clean air and water, tobacco reduction, diet and
nutrition, essential medicines and vaccines, and well-functioning
health systems. Meeting everyday survival needs may lack the glamour
of high-technology medicine or dramatic rescue, but what they lack
in excitement they gain in their potential impact on health,
precisely because they deal with the major causes of common disease
and disabilities across the globe.
