Developing health systems

Developing the means of delivering the systems of detecting, preventing and treating disease, including training medical personnel, providing clinics and pharmacies, medical research, and citizens' education.

Health is basic for being independent and becoming more productive, and for people taking direct responsibility for their own development. In fact, health, sanitary conditions and, accordingly, life expectancy are fundamental indicators of basic needs satisfaction. It is important to emphasize that health, together with education, housing and food, are determining factors of the social position of low-income populations. Health problems of these populations show a specific pattern related to deficiencies and hazards originating from poverty. Some 1,000 million people live without adequate water and sanitation, and this is the cause of many of the most prevalent diseases in developing countries. Many health problems can be prevented, diagnosed and treated with available, relatively simple and affordable equipment, and work in the field of sanitation and waste management through promotion of technologies affordable by low-income communities, as well as that promoting technology development in vaccines and diagnostics is proving to be critical. HABITAT and UNIDO have been active in these fields.36 At the same time, recent technology based on physical and engineering sciences has provided new health-care devices and techniques. However, many of these technologies are complex, costly and technically demanding, particularly for developing countries. Their effective introduction, use and maintenance requires sophisticated managerial, medical and engineering talent, and points to the need to evaluate health priorities and allocate scarce resources. In the specific context of basic needs, WHO's efforts to provide guidance on essential equipment for health facilities and to strengthen national capacities for the use of health technology as integrated components of overall health systems development are of particular importance. Such efforts require sustained support by all of the international community.