Data for the causes of maternal deaths are needed to inform policies to improve maternal health. We developed and analysed global, regional, and subregional estimates of the causes of maternal death during 2003—09, with a novel method, updating the previous WHO systematic review.

This modelling study undertaken by Professor Majid Ezzati from Imperial College London and published in latest issue of the Lancet estimates how achieving globally-agreed targets for six important health risks between 2010 and 2025 will reduce deaths caused by the big-four chronic diseases: cancers, diabetes, lung disease and cardiovascular disease (mainly heart disease and stroke)

Health has been a neglected issue in past Indian general elections. But this year, it has received more recognition by those vying to lead the world’s largest democracy.

Economic growth is widely regarded as a necessary, and often sufficient, condition for the improvement of population health. The researchers aimed to assess whether macroeconomic growth was associated with reductions in early childhood undernutrition in low-income and middle-income countries.

This study by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Harvard Medical School (HMS) published in latest edition of the journal Lancet reveals that despite improved medication and government as well as aid agencies’ efforts, the number of children suffering from tuberculosis (TB) annually has doubled since 2011.

Despite large gains in health over the past few decades, the distribution of health risks worldwide remains extremely and unacceptably uneven says the Lancet–University of Oslo Commission on Global Governance for Health.

The quest to secure economic growth, after a financial crisis that raised serious questions about capitalism's ability to protect and sustain the wellbeing of populations in rich and poor countries alike, is the overriding political priority for many governments today.

WHO has confi rmed an outbreak of at least ten cases of polio in Syria, where vaccination coverage has dramatically decreased during the civil war. Furthermore, wild-type poliovirus 1 (WPV1) has been isolated from sewage and faeces from asymptomatic carriers in Israel since February, 2013. Tourists and travellers could bring the infection to other countries. Precautions during the Hajj in Saudi Arabia in October, 2013, ensured that visitors from regions with known polio transmission were vaccinated, but Syria was not on the list. (Correspondence)

Urgent calls have been made for improved understanding of changes in coverage of maternal, newborn, and child health interventions, and their country-level determinants. The researchers examined historical trends in coverage of interventions with proven effectiveness, and used them to project rates of child and neonatal mortality in 2035 in 74 Countdown to 2015 priority countries.

Maternal undernutrition contributes to 800 000 neonatal deaths annually through small for gestational age births; stunting, wasting, and micronutrient deficiencies are estimated to underlie nearly 3·1 million child deaths annually. Progress has been made with many interventions implemented at scale and the evidence for effectiveness of nutrition interventions and delivery strategies has grown.