70 Years of Human Rights in Global Health: Drawing on a Contentious Past to Secure a Hopeful Future

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted on Dec 10, 1948, established a modern human rights foundation that has become a cornerstone of global health, central to public health policies, programmes, and practices. To commemorate the 70th anniversary of this seminal declaration, we trace the evolution of human rights in global health, linking the past, present, and future of health as a human right. This future remains uncertain. As contemporary challenges imperil continuing advancements, threatening both human rights protections and global health governance, the future will depend, as it has in the past, on sustained political engagement to realise human rights in global health

Appropriate tools and methods for tropical microepidemiology: a case-study of malaria clustering in Ethiopia

Background: The importance of local variations in patterns of health and disease are increasingly recognised, but, particularly in the case of tropical infections, available methods and resources for characterising disease clusters in time and space are limited. Whilst the Global Positioning System (GPS) allows accurate and easy determination of latitude and longitude, sophisticated Geographical Information Systems (GIS) that can process the data may not be available and accessible where they are most needed. Objective: To describe an appropriate procedure for interpreting GPS information. Methods: An example of space-time clustering of malaria cases around a dam in Ethiopia (106 cases in 129.7 child-years-at-risk) is used to demonstrate that GPS data can be interpreted simply and cheaply in under-resourced health service settings to provide timely and appropriate epidemiological assessments. Results: Malaria cases were clustered in time and space in the area surrounding a microdam. Conclusion: Quickly identifying disease foci using appropriate procedures in this manner could lead to better informed control and treatment activities which would represent a better use of resources as well as improved health for the community. [Ethiop.J.Health Dev. 2003;17(1):1-8

Shrinking the malaria map: progress and prospects.

In the past 150 years, roughly half of the countries in the world eliminated malaria. Nowadays, there are 99 endemic countries-67 are controlling malaria and 32 are pursuing an elimination strategy. This four-part Series presents evidence about the technical, operational, and financial dimensions of malaria elimination. The first paper in this Series reviews definitions of elimination and the state that precedes it: controlled low-endemic malaria. Feasibility assessments are described as a crucial step for a country transitioning from controlled low-endemic malaria to elimination. Characteristics of the 32 malaria-eliminating countries are presented, and contrasted with countries that pursued elimination in the past. Challenges and risks of elimination are presented, including Plasmodium vivax, resistance in the parasite and mosquito populations, and potential resurgence if investment and vigilance decrease. The benefits of elimination are outlined, specifically elimination as a regional and global public good. Priorities for the next decade are described