American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
June 2015; 92 (6)
http://www.ajtmh.org/content/current

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The Post-2015 Development Agenda: Keeping Our Focus on the Worst Off
Daniel Sharp and Joseph Millum*
Author Affiliations
Clinical Center Department of Bioethics, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland; Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
Abstract
Non-communicable diseases now account for the majority of the global burden of disease and an international campaign has emerged to raise their priority on the post-2015 development agenda. We argue, to the contrary, that there remain strong reasons to prioritize maternal and child health. Policy-makers ought to assign highest priority to the health conditions that afflict the worst off. In virtue of how little healthy life they have had, children who die young are among the globally worst off. Moreover, many interventions to deal with the conditions that cause mortality in the young are low-cost and provide great benefits to their recipients. Consistent with the original Millennium Development Goals, the international community should continue to prioritize reductions in communicable diseases, neonatal conditions, and maternal health despite the shifts in the global burden of disease.