| Improving health care in developing nations "is
the first step to fostering economic development," Harvard economics professor
Jeffrey Sachs said yesterday at a news briefing at the U.N. International
Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico, the Los
Angeles Times reports. Sachs, who headed up a recent WHO committee
study
on the correlation between public health and economic development, discussed
the study findings that AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria prohibit economic
growth in many developing nations. "Monterrey can be a turning point in
this division between rich and poor," Sachs said, adding, "There is nothing
more important in economic development than helping the poor stay alive
to become productive members of society." WHO Director of Health and Development
Andrew Cassels added, "We hope people come out of Monterrey thinking that
health care isn't just important in its own right, but that it's a key
strategy in building a sound economy" (Kraul/Chen, Los Angeles
Times, 3/21). |