Das Gupta, MonicaGostin, Lawrence2012-03-192012-03-192009-04-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/4100Aid to developing countries has largely neglected the population-wide health services that are core to communicable disease control in the developed world. These mostly non-clinical services generate "pure public goods" by reducing everyone's exposure to disease through measures such as implementing health and sanitary regulations. They complement the clinical preventive and treatment services which are the donors' main focus. Their neglect is manifested, for example, in a lack of coherent public health regulations in countries where donors have long been active, facilitating the spread of diseases such as avian flu. These services can be inexpensive, and dramatically reduce health inequalities. Sri Lanka spends less than 0.2% of GDP on its well-designed population-wide services, which contribute to the country's high levels of health equity and life expectancy despite low GDP per head and civil war. Evidence abounds on the negative externalities of weak population-wide health services. Global public health security cannot be assured without building strong national population-wide health systems to reduce the potential for communicable diseases to spread within and beyond their borders. Donors need greater clarity about what constitutes a strong public health system, and how to build them. The paper discusses gaps in donors' approaches and first steps toward closing them.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCESS TO HEALTH CAREACCESS TO HEALTH CARE SERVICESAIDASCARIASISAVIAN FLUAVIAN INFLUENZABULLETINBURDEN OF DISEASECANCERSCAPACITY BUILDINGCARDIOVASCULAR DISEASESCHILD DEATHSCHILD HEALTHCHILD MORTALITYCHILD SURVIVALCHOLERACITIESCITIZENSCIVIL WARCOMMUNICABLE DISEASECOMMUNICABLE DISEASE CONTROLCOMMUNICABLE DISEASESDEATHSDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDIARRHEADIARRHEAL DISEASESDIARRHOEADISASTERSDISEASE OUTBREAKSDISEASE PREVENTIONDISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROLDISEASE SURVEILLANCEDISEASE VECTORSDRACUNCULIASISDRINKING WATEREFFECTIVE VACCINESEMERGENCIESENDEMIC DISEASESENVIRONMENTAL HEALTHENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONEPIDEMICEPIDEMIC DISEASEEPIDEMIOLOGICAL PROFILEEXTERNALITIESFLU PANDEMICFOOD SAFETYGLOBAL HEALTHHAZARDSHEALTH AUTHORITIESHEALTH CAREHEALTH CARE SERVICESHEALTH CONDITIONSHEALTH ECONOMICSHEALTH EDUCATIONHEALTH EQUITYHEALTH INEQUALITIESHEALTH INFRASTRUCTUREHEALTH INTERVENTIONSHEALTH LEGISLATIONHEALTH ORGANIZATIONHEALTH OUTCOMESHEALTH PLANNINGHEALTH POLICYHEALTH PROGRAMSHEALTH REFORMHEALTH REGULATIONSHEALTH SECTORHEALTH SERVICEHEALTH SERVICESHEALTH STRATEGIESHEALTH SYSTEMHEALTH SYSTEMSHEALTHY DEVELOPMENTHOOKWORMHOOKWORM INFECTIONHUMAN DEVELOPMENTILLNESSIMPORTANCE OF POPULATIONINCOMEINDUSTRIALIZATIONINFECTIONINFECTIONSINFECTIOUS DISEASEINFECTIOUS DISEASESINFLUENZAINJURIESINSTITUTIONAL MECHANISMSINTERNATIONAL COOPERATIONINTERNATIONAL EFFORTSINTERNATIONAL HEALTH REGULATIONSINTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONSLATRINESLAWSLEPROSYLIFE EXPECTANCYLIMITED RESOURCESLOCAL AUTHORITIESLOCAL GOVERNMENTSLOW-INCOME COUNTRIESMALARIAMALARIA CONTROLMATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTHMEDICAL SERVICESMEDICAL TECHNOLOGYMEDICINEMIDWIVESMILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALSMORBIDITYMORTALITYNATIONAL GOVERNMENTSNATIONAL LEVELNATIONAL POPULATIONNUTRITIONOUTBREAK CONTROLPARASITIC DISEASESPATHOGENSPERSONAL HEALTHPERSONAL HYGIENEPOLICY RESEARCHPOLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPERPOLICY SERIESPOOR PEOPLEPOPULATION DISCUSSIONPREVALENCEPREVENTION ACTIVITIESPRIMARY HEALTH CAREPROGRESSPUBLIC EDUCATIONPUBLIC HEALTHPUBLIC HEALTH INTERVENTIONSPUBLIC HEALTH LAWSPUBLIC HEALTH SERVICESPUBLIC HEALTH WORKERSPUBLIC SERVICESSAFE WATERSANITARY CONDITIONSSANITATIONSANITATION FACILITIESSCHISTOSOMIASISSCREENINGSERVICE DELIVERYSEXSMALLPOXTHERAPIESTHERAPYTRACHOMATREATMENTTREATMENT SERVICESTROPICAL DISEASESTROPICAL MEDICINEURBANIZATIONVACCINATIONVACCINATION PROGRAMSVECTOR CONTROLWASTEWASTE DISPOSALWATER SUPPLIESWATER TREATMENTWORKERSWORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATIONWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-4907