Intersection 2: Non-Communicable Diseases and Global Health Equity

Abstract

"There is excellent reason, however, to think that the situation faced by very poor people in both low- and middle-income countries is substantially different. For them, the etiology and epidemiology of NCDs are distinct.4 In fact, the term “NCD” is misleading with reference to the poor, since it may be linked to infection (for example, cervical cancer, which often results from a virus, or ‘tropical splenomegaly,’ a frequent symptom of malaria), as well as pollution, inadequate food, and lack of access to basic health care. In poor countries of sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere, NCDs are not the major causes of illness, but they are close behind AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, representing a quarter or more of deaths and disabilities. No single NCD accounts for a very significant fraction."(pg 1)