Editorial: Who’s afraid of NCDs?
Dear reader,
At last week’s Executive Board (EB) meeting of the WHO, the agenda items on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) passed at amazing speed. Possibly, WHO member states are saving their substantive inputs for an upcoming formal member state meeting in April. At a closed meeting last November, member states discussed the draft terms of reference for a Global Coordinating Mechanism, an Inter Agency Taskforce and a set of indicators on the prevention and control of NCDs. Rumour has it that these meetings are closed to non-state actors to avoid industry lobbying.
It is well established by now that the incidence of NCDs is increasing rapidly, and that it is no longer only the high-income countries that are being affected. Worldwide, a larger number of people is overweight than undernourished, and low- and middle income countries are facing the so-called double burden of malnutrition. According to the recent ODI report Future diets, “1.46 billion people are obese or overweight and between 1980 and 2008, the numbers of people affected in the developing world more than tripled, from 250 million to 904 million”. Malnutrition has a big influence on our risk of contracting a number of NCDs. And big interests are involved in influencing what we eat.
Several WHO member states expressed their concerns during the EB about the difficulty to effectively deal with food and beverage manufacturers that are seeking to expand their markets and employing sweeping marketing strategies to change our eating and drinking habits. These concerns are legitimate, because countries’ policy space to protect public health is under threat. There is growing evidence that regulation and tax measures are essential to discourage unhealthy eating patterns and promote a healthy lifestyle.
But these types of policy measures are becoming harder to implement, due to investor state dispute settlement provisions that may be included in trade agreements currently under negotiation, such as the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement and presumably also the proposed Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Such provisions are already part of certain bilateral investment treaties and are being used by transnational corporations to halt effective regulatory action in relation to NCDs.
At the EB meeting, Medicus Mundi International and the People’s Health Movement called upon WHO member states to adapt the terms of reference for the United Nations Inter Agency Task Force and include provision of guidance on trade and investment rules. We believe this is a necessary measure to protect public health regulatory policy space for the prevention and control of NCDs.
Awareness on NCDs is growing, but there is strong resistance against regulating the marketing and supply of unhealthy food and beverages, coming from corporations and several governments concerned about protecting their export markets. Wemos will be following decision-making on the NCD frameworks and advocate for measures to protect public health interests.
Mariska Meurs, Wemos
mariska.meurs@wemos.nl
MMI Network: News, events and resources
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Network event: medico international
Beyond Aid: From Charity to Solidarity
Berlin, 20-22 February 2014
The critique of aid is complex. Some would like to totally replace aid by self responsibility, others charge that aid can only mitigate misery and is thus stabilizing inequality. Precisely because so different actors such as the World Bank, think tanks with government links, NGOs and independent grassroots organizations are coming together under “Beyond Aid”, we would like to strengthen our understanding of it: as the focal point for cooperation in solidarity which goes beyond aid and tackles the structural causes of need. The second Frankfurt Conference on Aid will discuss ideas and ways of international cooperation that aim at sustainable change.
http://www.medico.de/themen/aktion/dokumente/beyond-aid/4553/
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Network event: Medicus Mundi Switzerland
Is “Value for Money” the best Approach for Improving Weak Health Systems?
Basel, 9 April 2014
The aid community now systematically refers to the “Value for Money” (VfM) concept in relation to health programmes. Still, the concept has varying meaning among individuals and agencies. It spans benchmarking the costs of certain products, to focusing exclusively on high level impact indicators. Applying universal standards in very different contexts can be counterproductive, force missed opportunities, and devalue the need for “patient capital” and long-term capacity development. Consider the situation of countries with weak health systems – where health conditions are dire, and resources are limited. Is VfM the mantra that leads to the most prudent allocation of investments? Spring Symposium of the Swiss TPH, a member of the Network Medicus Mundi Switzerland.
http://www.swisstph.ch/spring_symposium_2014.html
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Network event: Medicus Mundi Switzerland
Global Health – Interconnected Challenges, Integrated Solutions
Geneva, 15-17 April 2014
“During recent decades significant progress has been made to focus policy attention and channel new financial resources towards global health issues. Despite this, the challenges facing our global community are becoming increasingly complex and inter-connected.” The Geneva Health Forum is organized by the Division of International and Humanitarian Medicine at the Hospitals of the University of Geneva, a member of Medicus Mundi Switzerland
http://ghf.globalhealthforum.net/
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Network paper: Cordaid
Focus on fragility
“In 2015, the agenda for the UN’s Millennium Development Goals will be renewed. New plans are currently being made. At Cordaid, we are convinced that addressing fragility remains a key priority for the post-2015 agenda. We do this through our commitment to building flourishing communities in fragile states and conflict areas. Without this focus, we risk undermining development in many countries and reversing the gains that have been made over the past decades. Read about our focus on fragility in the leaflet Focus on fragility (4 pages) and the policy paper Gender inequality and fragility in the post-MDG framework (21 pages).”
http://www.cordaid.org/en/post-2015-focus-fragility/
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Network paper: Wemos
Democratizing the World Health Organization
“A progressive erosion of the democratic space appears as one of the emerging challenges in global health today. Such delimitation of the political interplay has a particularly evident impact on the unique public interest function of the World Health Organization (WHO). This paper aims to identify some obstacles for a truly democratic functioning of the UN specialized agency for health. The development of civil society’s engagement with the WHO, including in the current reform proposals, is described. The paper also analyses how today’s financing of the WHO – primarily through multi-bi financing mechanisms – risks to choke the agency’s role in global health. Democratizing the public debate on global health, and therefore the role of the WHO, requires a debate on its future role and engagement at the country level. This desirable process can only be linked to national debates on public health, and the re-definition of health as a primary political and societal concern.” Article by Remco van de Pas, Wemos, and L.G. van Schalk, in: Public Health, February 2014
http://www.publichealthjrnl.com/article/S0033-3506%2813%2900293-X/abstract
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Network paper: medico international
Systemic failure
When national health-care systems fail, the effects can be global: epidemics spread across borders, with serious diseases breaking out again and again. Accordingly, health is a global public good – and providing good health care is an international responsibility. An article by Andreas Wulf, medico international, in: D+C, December 2013.
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Network news: Cordaid
Openness in development aid reaches new level
The Dutch member of the MMI Network Cordaid has put all her project data online and brought openness in development aid to a new level: “Worldwide, 213 organizations and governments publish their data according to the IATI standard. None of them do this as thoroughly and completely as Cordaid. For security or privacy reasons a small number of the more than 700 Cordaid projects are not published. Cordaid didn´t decide to publish all project data in reaction to questions from the public about spending on development aid. All project data has been online for the past year, including budgets, targets and results. Cordaid chose to publish the IATI dataset to make co-creation possible. Everybody can read where we work and how we work and help us to make the world a bit better. Simone Filippini, Cordaid’s CEO, says: ‘Fighting poverty starts with sharing. This is why we share our information.”.
http://www.cordaid.org/en/news/openness-development-aid-reaches-new-level/
International health and global health policy: MMI updates
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Universal health coverage
Health systems strengthening
Health services, health financing
- Universal Health Coverage: Countries of the South battle on. James Akazili and Charlotte Soulary
http://mondediplo.com/2014/01/16healthcover - Civil Society Consultation on Universal Health Coverage in Dakar Senegal, 17-18 February 2014
http://www.actionforglobalhealth.eu/index.php?id=421 - Speech by World Bank President Jim Yong Kim on Universal Health Coverage in Emerging Economies
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/speech/2014/01/14/speech-world-bank-group-president-jim-yong-kim-health-emerging-economies - Global action toward Universal Health Coverage. Nellie Bristol
http://bit.ly/JNvmpX - The Mexican health reform. A success case? Asa Cristina Laurell
http://e.itg.be/ihp/archives/mexican-health-reform-success-case/#sthash.WLzhXsa2.dpuf - Universal Health Coverage for India: Dream or Development Imperative? Srinath Reddy
http://buff.ly/1fXobpD
- Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen pitches for publicly financed UHC
http://m.thehindu.com/opinion/interview/article5470806.ece/?maneref=http%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FA2kphHOm5d - Bangladesh: Innovation for Universal Health Coverage. A Lancet series
http://www.thelancet.com/series/bangladesh - The role of fiscal policies in health promotion. Sassi et al., OECD Health Working Papers No. 66
http://bit.ly/1b0BYeF - Renewing health districts for advancing universal health coverage in Africa
http://www.health4africa.net/wp-content/uploads/Dakar-Conference-Final-Report.pdf - Participatory approaches to strengthening people centred health systems in east/southern Africa. Workshop report
http://www.equinetafrica.org/bibl/docs/PRA%20Reg%20Mtg%20Rep%20Oct2013.pdf - Equitable health systems listen to people. Barbara Kaim et al., editorial in Equinet newsletter
http://equinetafrica.org/newsletter/index.php?issue=155
See also below:
Health beyond 2015
Twitter: #UHC
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Health policy and systems research
- Health Systems Research from Beijing to Cape Town via Singapore. Maryam Bigdeli
http://e.itg.be/ihp/archives/health-systems-research-beijing-cape-town-singapore/ - MSF pioneers opening up access to humanitarian data. Unni Karunakara
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001562 - …and Cordaid made its project data accessible
http://www.cordaid.org/en/news/openness-development-aid-reaches-new-level/ - A systematic review of barriers to and facilitators of the use of evidence by policymakers
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6963/14/2/abstract
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Human resources for health
Migration of health professionals
- Romanian health system is in crisis as doctors leave for better working life. BMJ
http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g430 - Transformative Learning for Health Equity. PMAC 2014 Conference in Bangkok, 27-31 January
http://www.pmaconference.mahidol.ac.th/ - The public sector nursing workforce in Kenya: a county-level analysis Mabel Wakaba et al.
http://www.human-resources-health.com/content/12/1/6/abstract - First EU Joint Action on Health Workforce Planning & Forecasting conference
http://euhwforce.weebly.com/140128-conference-bratislava.html - Nursing in 3D: Workforce diversity, health disparities, social determinants of health
http://www.publichealthreports.org/issuecontents.cfm?Volume=129&Issue=8 - There is a global shortage of 4.2 million health workers. The UK government must do more to tackle this problem
http://bit.ly/1eqfqaX
Twitter: #HRH, #healthworkers #healthworkerscount, #3GFHRH
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Access to medicines and vaccination
Medical research and development
- Wanted: a new model to encourage pharmaceutical innovation. Brecht Ingelbeen
http://e.itg.be/ihp/archives/wanted-model-encourage-pharmaceutical-innovation/#sthash.1YMejo67.dpuf - CEWG report on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination. WHO secretariat for EB134
http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB134/B134_26-en.pdf - At WHO EB134: PHM/MMI statement on strengthening regulatory systems refers to SA pharmagate
http://www.ghwatch.org/sites/www.ghwatch.org/files/EB134_Item9-5_MedicinesRegulation_PHM&MMIStatement.pdf - At WHO EB134: Statement of South Africa on Access to Essential Medicines in the wake of pharmagate
http://keionline.org/node/1913 - At WHO EB134: civil society calls on WHO to foil conspiracy by big pharma to undermine South African reforms
http://www.ghwatch.org/sites/www.ghwatch.org/files/SA_patent1a.pdf - Using Law to Accelerate Treatment Access in South Africa
http://bit.ly/KQQJHs - No bold action by WHO & countries to address lack of R&D is concerning. K. Athersuch
http://bit.ly/1e1elDX - Switzerland and Gates Foundation “join forces”: Access to health interventions through strengthening regulatory systems
http://www.news.admin.ch/message/index.html?lang=en&msg-id=51763 - To patent or not to patent? the case of Novartis’ cancer drug Glivec in India. R Gabble & JC Kohler
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/10/1/3/abstract - Market size and sales pattern of tuberculosis drugs in the Philippines.
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iuatld/pha/2013/00000003/00000004/art00017 - The ethics of pharmaceutical testing in the developing world
http://www.yalemedlaw.com/2013/12/the-ethics-of-pharmaceutical-testing-in-the-developing-world/
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Women’s and children’s health
Sexual and reproductive rights and health
- Every Newborn Action Plan to end preventable deaths. Public consultation until 28 February 2014
http://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/topics/newborn/enap_consultation/en/index.html
http://www.everynewborn.org/resources/ - Ban Ki-moon’s flagship global health initiative “Every Woman Every Child” in jeopardy. Rchard Horton
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2814%2960079-9/fulltext - Improving Women’s Health through Universal Health Coverage. Jonathan Quick et al.
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001580 - Slow progress in ending female genital mutilation. Priya Shetty
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/92/1/14-020114/en/index.html - Post2015: A comprehensive goal for health including SRHR, and another for gender equality. Marge Berer
http://download.journals.elsevierhealth.com/pdfs/journals/0968-8080/PIIS0968808013427507.pdf - Every Child’s Birth Right. Inequities and Trends in Birth Registration. UNICEF report
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_71508.html - Birth registration: vital statistics. Lancet editorial on UNICEF report
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2962682-3/fulltext?rss=yes
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Prevention and control of NCSs
Disabilities, Mental Health
- Prevention and control of NCDs. Report by the WHO DG to the UNGA, December 2013: “unsufficient and uneven progress”
http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/68/650 - ODI Future diets report – Nearly 1bn overweight or obese adults in developing countries
http://bit.ly/1l6evgl pic.twitter.com/cwgQVYZILc - NCD among the bottom billion. Time to think differently? Richard Smith
http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2014/01/13/richard-smith-ncd-among-the-bottom-billion/ - Origins, development, effects, future of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: A personal perspective. D Yach
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2962155-8/abstract - Draft WHO global disability action plan 2014–2021: Better health for all people with disabilities
http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB134/B134_16-en.pdf
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Equity and human right to health
Social, political and econmic determinants of health
Poverty and social protection
- The Social Determinants of Health: Time to consider the causes of the causes. Paula Braveman and Laura Gottlieb
http://www.publichealthreports.org/issueopen.cfm?articleID=3078 - Global Social Protection Fund: an alternative for international health aid.
http://heapol.oxfordjournals.org/content/29/1/127.full.pdf - Excellent report by Oxfam on tackling inequality
http://www.oxfam.org/en/policy/working-for-the-few-economic-inequality - God, Mammon and the debate on inequality. Kevin Watkins, ODI
http://www.odi.org.uk/opinion/8156-god-mammon-debate-inequality#.UuDlf_YOFf8.twitter - Integrating Rights into a Post2015 Agenda. David Mepham for the Launch of Human Rights Watch World Report 2014
http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2014/essays/putting-development-to-rights - Social chaos — the ignored tragedy in global health. Richard Horton
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2962385-5/fulltext - Poverty has a creation story: Let’s tell it. Martin Kirk and Joe Brewer
http://thinkafricapress.com/culture/poverty-has-creation-story-lets-tell-it - Fear of disorder versus hope for change: the politics of global inequality. Andrew Norton
http://www.odi.org.uk/opinion/8099-inequality-rising-zeitgeist-fear-disorder-hope-change-de-blasio-tax - The global financial crisis and health equity: Early experiences from Canada. A Ruckert & R Labonte
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/10/1/2/abstract - Health inequalities in the EU. Final report of a consortium (lead: Sir Michael Marmot)
http://ec.europa.eu/health/social_determinants/docs/healthinequalitiesineu_2013_en.pdf - Focus on poverty: the way to better health. Roger Williamson
http://www.scidev.net/global/disease/analysis-blog/focus-on-poverty-the-way-to-better-health.html
Twitter: #SDH, #HIAP
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Global health governance and policy
- Not everybody’s business: corporate crowding into the tents of global governance
http://www.opendemocracy.net/david-sogge/not-everybody%E2%80%99s-business-corporate-crowding-into-tents-of-global-governance - Response by Tom Paulson on annual letter Bill and Melinda Gates
http://www.humanosphere.org/2014/01/humanospheres-annual-letter-bill-melinda-gates/ - The next era of global health? Follow the money. Ilona Kickbusch
http://www.chathamhouse.org/media/comment/view/196678 - Julio Frenk et al. call for globalising global health – as health of global population. Not really new, but inspiring
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2962561-1/fulltext - The unruled world. Stewart Patrick makes the case for “good enough global governance”
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/140343/stewart-patrick/the-unruled-world - Happy New Year from WHO with this review of 2013 global health highlights
http://goo.gl/vwic1g (video)
Twitter: #globalhealth #healthgovernance
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World Health Organization
WHO reform and financing
- World Health Organization: past, present and future. Special issue of Public Health Journal
http://t.co/eANIfsdX0c - WHO: retirement or reinvention? K. Lee and T. Pang
http://www.publichealthjrnl.com/article/S0033-3506%2813%2900263-1/abstract - Reforming WHO: the art of the possible. Andrew Cassels et al.
http://www.publichealthjrnl.com/article/S0033-3506%2813%2900403-4/fulltext - Democratizing the WHO. Remco van de Pas
http://www.publichealthjrnl.com/article/S0033-3506(13)00293-X/abstract - WHO: Towards health-equitable globalisation. Remco van de Pas
http://getinvolvedinglobalhealth.blogspot.ch/2014/01/the-world-health-organisation-towards.html - UN health agencies need vision more than reform. Jon Lidén
http://www.chathamhouse.org/media/comment/view/196350?dm_i=1TYE,22AE5,BM8TVS,7FUA7,1 - January meeting of WHO EB: documentation
http://apps.who.int/gb/e/e_eb134.html - WHO is the untransparent exception in the UN for not webcasting its Meetings. Amir Attaran et al.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2814%2960023-4/fulltext - WHO EB134 document: Framework of engagement with non-State actors
http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB134/B134_8-en.pdf - WHO EB134 document: Framework of engagement with non-State actors : Review by DGH Coalition
http://www.medicusmundi.org/resolveuid/57fad0053fa37bb3ce1a6bfb087e1f7b - WHO EB134, Framework of engagement with non-State actors: Statement by MMI/PHM
http://www.medicusmundi.org/en/topics/pnfp-sector-and-global-health-initiatives/who-reform/eb134_item5-4_nsa_mmistatement-def.pdf - January meeting of WHO EB tackled reform, engagement with non-state actors. Catherine Saez
http://www.ip-watch.org/2014/01/24/who-board-tackles-reform-engagement-with-non-state-actors/ - January meeting of WHO EB: WHO Watch analysis of key issues and the statements delivered by MMI/PHM
http://www.ghwatch.org/who-watch/eb134
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Health beyond 2015
MDGs and SDGs
Global Health 2035
- Health in the post2015 United Nations development agenda. Report by the WHO Secretariat for EB134
http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB134/B134_18-en.pdf - UHC and post2015 development agenda: Crucial negotiations at the United Nations. M Bouyé and J-M Severino
http://mondediplo.com/2014/01/18healthcover - Health is a global public good and must figure among the post-2015 development goals
http://medico.de/en/themes/health/documents/systemic-failure/1267/ - Civil society recommendations on Human Rights for UN Open Working Group on post2015 SDGs
http://www.un-ngls.org/IMG/pdf/UN-NGLS_Brief_for_OWG_on_SDGs-HumanRights-Dec_2013.pdf - Civil society recommendations on global governance for UNGA OWG on post2015 SDGs
http://www.un-ngls.org/IMG/pdf/UN-NGLS_Policy_Brief_for_OWG_on_SDGs-Global_Governance-Dec_2013.pdf - Global Health 2035 Report: Flawed projections. Daniele Dionisio,
http://www.ip-watch.org/2014/01/23/global-health-2035-report-flawed-projections/ - Pre #post2015 means high time for fancy formulas. After 80x40x20, here is 16-8-4 – and yours?
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2962423-X/fulltext
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2814%2960051-9/fulltext - “Health in post2015 should “bring people to the center…and not focus only the disease”
http://ow.ly/ssLzp
Twitter: #health2015 #post2015 #globalhealth
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Development, aid and international institutions
- On the edge of chaos. Hans Dembowski reviews Ben Ramalingam’s book on why aid agencies deliver less than they promise
http://www.dandc.eu/en/article/ben-ramalingam-criticises-aid-agencies-19th-century-world-view-and-wants-them-rise - Swiss Newspaper asks readers if they agree that Red Cross accepts Big Tobacco money: most are in favor (71% : 29%)
http://www.aargauerzeitung.ch/schweiz/ohne-geld-des-tabak-multis-gibt-es-keine-schweizer-rettungshunde-127599161 - Getting to Denmark – how rich countries can learn from each other to improve development policies. Owen Barder
http://international.cgdev.org/blog/getting-denmark-how-rich-countries-can-learn-each-others-commitment-development - Are your development myths in the ODI top 16? Claire Melamed
http://bit.ly/1f6K4Uz - How only small NGOs can address unmet needs
http://www.whydev.org/how-only-small-ngos-can-address-unmet-needs/ - The myth of “the field”. Alison Rabe
http://www.whydev.org/the-myth-of-the-field/ - Transparency and accountability initiatives: watchdogs or critical friends? Report on Aidspan workshop by R Bourgoing
http://www.bourgoing.com/en/2013/12/watchdogs-or-critical-friends/ - My very best guide to understanding international development: Be very suspicious of the easy stories. Alanna Shaikh
http://bloodandmilk.org/2014/01/05/the-easy-answers/
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Global reports
Various topics
- Health in the Arab world: a view from within. New Lancet series
http://www.thelancet.com/series/health-in-the-arab-world - HINARI – a successful partnership contributing to making health information more accessible
http://who.int/features/2014/hinari-research-access/en/index.html - Surgery and global health: a new Lancet Commission
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2962345-4/fulltext
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