Global Health

Over the past century, scientific innovation has led to extraordinary progress in health. Vaccines for measles, tetanus, and whooping cough have nearly eliminated these diseases in industrialized countries. Smallpox has been eradicated worldwide, and polio could soon follow.

In recent years, the pace of progress in science and technology has accelerated -- particularly in the area of medical research. Developments such as the decoding of the human genome promise to revolutionize our ability to prevent and treat disease. But advances in health too often fail to reach those who need them most -- people in the poorest countries. Two-thirds of deaths in children under age 5 stem from health problems that are preventable or treatable with existing tools. For example, every year 27 million children in developing countries are not immunized with basic vaccines.

Furthermore, research on diseases that primarily affect the developing world is severely neglected. Of the billions of dollars spent annually on medical research and development, only a small fraction is devoted to diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria.

The challenges ahead are great, but the world has never been in a better position to dramatically improve global health. We have the tools to prevent many of the worst diseases; we have the scientific knowledge to develop new solutions; and we have growing political commitment and resources. Working together, we can save millions of lives, and change the world's view of what's possible.