HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT: The Millennium Perspectives

Improvements in health status as well as health care are treated as integrated components of the development process. Since health is a product of multivariate production process, in which medical care is just one of the many inputs, the impact of the state intervention on health status depends on its overall socio-economic policies. Rapid urbanization, industrialization, changes in lifestyle and consequent hike in risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity caused for increase in global burden of chronic illness. There are also overriding environmental and mental health issues that cannot be overlooked. The double burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases thus presents a formidable challenge on the already resource-constrained health systems of different countries. The withdrawal of public sector from the health care segment has further worsened the situation of patients. These multifaceted problems call for a development approach on basic health care issues.

The present volume covers different aspects and issues related to health and development with empirical evidence. It is an initiative to address the spatial and social issues connected with health and development and to draw the attention of government functionaries, health care planners and administrators. The main themes that the present volume focuses are: health care system and policy, health and development, equity and health and health status and health security. The book promises to be of immense help to all concerned scholars, academicians, students, policy makers, health care planners and administrators.

K. Gangadharan is Associate Professor and Head, School of Development Studies, Department of Applied Economics, Kannur University, Kerala. He is also Director of UGC Population Education Resource Centre (PERC), Kannur. With 15 years of teaching experience, he specializes in health economics, quality of life and development education, and social sector development. Besides five books, he has published articles and research papers in leading national and international journals. He is the member of many professional organizations and the Managing Editor of Journal of Human Development.