Abstract

This chapter addresses the connections between health and development, in both terms of development indicators and policies. Development processes that lead to improving livelihoods are linked to new kinds of health problems, including a rising prevalence of certain diseases, such as cancer and diabetes. Challenges in providing health services to populations will increasingly involve responding to the double burden of disease. In other words, infectious diseases associated with poverty will need to be addressed at the same time as non communicable diseases. Specific issues that need to be dealt with urgently include the rise in antimicrobial resistance, which has emerged as a consequence of the protracted, incorrect use of medications. Serious concerns have been highlighted about new disease epidemics, such as Ebola and COVID-19, which are recognized as a threat to public health internationally, in part due to air travel and population movements. This, in turn, has been associated with a more overt linking of security with disease control, and the possibilities for militarized enforcement procedures.