Afterword I The status of public health in low-income countries

Abstract

In this first part of the book, we have highlighted that infectious diseases still impose a very high burden on populations living in low-income countries, with millions of deaths every year attributable to pathogens that have (almost) disappeared in high-income countries (such as malaria or tuberculosis). Numerous public health programs at a global scale are trying to diminish this burden through multiple interventions, involving vaccines, antibiotics, drugs and vector control, among others. Many of these global programs have been extremely successful, but their impacts have been much more striking in high-income countries than in low-income countries, where, despite noticeable successes, achievements are fragile, sustainability is uncertain and there are still many possible improvements....