Shingai Machingaidze and colleagues reflect on the successes and shortfalls of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) in Africa, and the considerable challenges that must now be addressed to improve immunization systems.
Roman Carrasco and colleagues propose a "cap and trade" system for global health involving a cost-effectiveness criterion and a DALY (Disability-Adjusted Life Year) global credit market, mirroring global carbon emission permits trading markets to mitigate climate change.
Patricia McGettigan and David Henry find that, although some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as diclofenac are known to increase cardiovascular risk, diclofenac is included on 74 countries essential medicine lists and was the most commonly used NSAID in the 15 countries they evaluated.
K. Srinath Reddy and Ambuj Roy discuss the Research Article by Patricia McGettigan and David Henry about the continued use of NSAIDs associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including the mechanisms of increased risk, probable reasons for ongoing use, and next steps.
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has contributed the least of any world region to the global accumulation of greenhouse gas emissions; however, this region will probably be more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change than any other. Less than 7% of the world's total emissions of greenhouse gases emanate from the African continent; thus the continent contributes very little overall to climate change.
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs, e.g., cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, neurological diseases) have been the commonest cause of death and disability globally for at least the last three decades. Even in sub-Saharan Africa, NCDs contribute a third of the disability-adjusted life year burden. However, research resources allocated to NCDs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are trivial.
The proportion of women and children receiving health care in the poorest countries is increasing. Unfortunately, markers of improved health outcomes, such as falling maternal or newborn mortality, have not matched expectations from the gains in the coverage of care. Robust evidence exists for one explanatory factor: the poor–rich gaps in coverage found along the continuum of care for women and children, and particularly for the crucial period around childbirth.
In one half of a PLOS Medicine Debate, Jeff Collin argues against Simon Chapman's proposal for a smoker's license, saying that it is strategically flawed and ethically unsound.
In one half of a PLOS Medicine Debate, Simon Chapman lays out a case for a smoker's license designed to limit access to tobacco products and encourage cessation.
David Levy and colleagues use the SimSmoke model to estimate the effect of Brazils recent stronger tobacco control policies on smoking prevalence and associated premature mortality, and the effect that additional policies may have.
