Worldwide economic troubles have not stopped the "momentum" to improve health, the director general of the World Health Organisation said yesterday.
Speaking to the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, Dr Margaret Chan said she disagreed with the idea the financial crisis "derailed" the best ever chance to tackle the effects of world poverty.
She said: "It is true that money is tight and the future of the world economy looks uncertain. Health officials, development partners, and WHO are watching money closely.
"Money is important, but many other factors drive progress in public health. During my recent visits to countries, I have seen inspiring examples of success. Striking achievements within countries make me optimistic."
She cited India’s eradication of polio and the reduction of guinea worm cases to just 100 a year.
She said: "I visited Namibia in April. That country’s minister of health, an expert in vector control, is leading a group of eight neighbouring African countries in a joint effort to eliminate malaria within the next few years. WHO has produced a complete set of technical manuals, for testing, treating, and tracking, to guide them on their way.
"These countries are ambitious. They are determined. Their eyes are wide open to the challenge, but the chances of success are good."
She called on health policy-makers to get "back to basics", such as primary health care and access to essential medicines for all residents. They should also be thrifty, she said, and intolerant of waste.
She said WHO now had a goal of eliminating transmission of HIV infection from mothers to babies – based on research and evidence.
Dr Chan said she was concerned that financial pressures meant the goal of getting universal access to anti-HIV medicine was unlikely to be met. The Aids epidemic could be countered by prevention – but infected people should also be treated, she said.
She said: "In these difficult financial times, I see an extremely dangerous tendency to measure how much health can be bought for a given amount of money. Saving a life with a vaccine is unquestionably far cheaper and more immediate than keeping someone with AIDS alive. It is also less demanding on health services.
"In my view, human life cannot be valued, or devalued, or discounted in this way."
Meanwhile campaigners from the charity Médecins Sans Frontières called for the Assembly to back proposals for a new convention on medical research.
Not enough research is geared towards the needs of poor countries, MSF said.
Dr Tido von Schoen-Angerer, of MSF, said: “Our field teams know where the medical needs are, but that knowledge isn’t enough to address the gaps. We need to connect the research priorities with the money, to drive the money spent on medical research to where the needs are and to ensure that the fruits of innovation are affordable and accessible."
The aim of the convention is to bind signatories to channel funding to global priorities.
* Research in The Lancet today warns of "poor quality" and fake malaria drugs endangering the fight against the disease.
These lead to drug resistance and inadequate treatment, experts say. Researchers found that about a third of drugs in south-east Asia were fake while a similar number in Africa were not of the right quality.
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