This post was originally published on the IntraHealth International blog.
We’ve come a long way over the past 40 years in preventing and treating infectious diseases. The number of child deaths now drops every year. And malnutrition is causing fewer deaths than in the past, too. However, more young people and middle-aged adults are suffering—and dying—from disease and injury. Noncommunicable diseases have become the leading cause of death and disability worldwide.
The Lancet published these results last month in The Global Burden of Disease Study 2010, the largest-ever systematic effort to describe the global distribution and causes of major diseases, injuries, and health risk factors. The study is, according to The Lancet’s Editor-in-Chief Dr. Richard Horton, “a critical contribution to our understanding of present and future health priorities for countries and the global community.” Read more »
