When heads of state and health ministers gather in New York next week for the first United Nations (UN) high-level summit on non-communicable disease (NCD), they will be presented with some jaw-dropping statistics. According to UN reports released before the meeting, NCDs such as cardiovascular disease and cancer killed 36 million people in 2008, accounting for 63% of all deaths.

Non-communicable diseases are on the rise. Emerging nations need to take them seriously. (Editorial)

Protecting citizens against the financial consequences of illness has long been a key objective of health systems worldwide. In the United Kingdom for example, financial protection—which refers to how far people are protected from the financial consequences of illness—was the fundamental goal when the National Health Service was established in 1948, more than health improvement or equitable access to health care.

The United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on HIV/AIDS in 2001 was a critical event that dramatically enhanced the global AIDS response. Ten years later, the September 2011 UN High-Level Meeting on Noncommunicable Disease Prevention and Control provides a similar opportunity for the international community and national stakeholders to raise awareness and launch an effective global response to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). It is an opportunity that should not be missed as it will not likely occur again.

Over the past decade, India has witnessed a phenomenal growth in the clinical trial industry. The projections forecast a double-digit growth over the next decade propelled by enhanced outsourcing by drug developing companies.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a global health and developmental emergency, as they cause premature deaths, exacerbate poverty and threaten national economies. In 2008, they were the top killers in the South-East Asia region, causing 7.9 million deaths; the number of deaths is expected to increase by 21% over the next decade.

Analysis of the scope and quality of evaluations of health system/policy interventions done in India is not available. Such analysis can help in conducting more useful evaluations. The authors accessed evaluation reports of health system/policy interventions aimed at improving population health in India, reported during 2001-08, which were available in the public domain through extensive internet searches.

Performance-based financing: the need for more research - Round Table Discussion.

Over the past 15 years, performance-based financing has been implemented in an increasing number of developing countries,
particularly in Africa, as a means of improving health worker performance. Scaling up to national implementation in Burundi and
Rwanda has encouraged proponents of performance-based financing to view it as more than a financing mechanism, but increasingly
as a strategic tool to reform the health sector. We resist such a notion on the grounds that results-based and economically driven