The development community has rediscovered the ancient truth that a country s ability to protect its population against serious illness is an important element of successful development. Major international initiatives are underway to address persistently high levels of ill health. As governments, NGOs, donor agencies, philanthropic foundations and others develop these initiatives, they would be wise to take into account the following lessons from the past few decades of health system development.
Health services can make a big difference.
Effective preventive programmes and good access to appropriate medical care diminish the burden of ill health and early death substantially and contribute to efforts to reduce poverty. A number of countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa have shown this to be so. It is easy to forget their experience when faced with the poor performance of many national health systems. Facilities, health workers and drugs are not enough. Many countries have constructed networks of health facilities and trained large numbers of health workers.