Research that can meaningfully inform policy and practice and improve health outcomes is a founding principle of World Medical & Health Policy (WMHP). The Forum on Health, Homelessness and Poverty is an annual event sponsored by the journal, the Center for the Study of International Medical Policy and Practice (CSIMPP) at George Mason University's School of Public Policy, and the Policy Studies Organization (PSO), that brings together policy researchers and practitioners in a dialogue with this important goal in mind. This issue of our journal highlights some of the results of our most recent forum, held at the School of Public Policy at George Mason University on November 7, 2013. The presentations at the forum, and the articles that follow, focus on understanding and mitigating the adverse effects of homelessness and poverty as determinants of health. The final article of this issue, a commentary on the elusive goal of eliminating global hunger, will expand this conversation to address policy issues faced by the world's vulnerable populations. In various statements on ethical concerns surrounding medical practice, the World Medical Association (WMA) has acknowledged the importance of homelessness as a contributing factor to the spread of disease and ill health. The WMA Statement on HIV/AIDS and the Medical Profession, adopted by the 57th WMA General Assembly in Pilanesberg, South Africa in October 2006, notes that “Many factors drive the spread of the disease, such as poverty, homelessness, illiteracy, prostitution, human trafficking, stigma, discrimination and gender-based inequality” (WMA, 2006). Further, the WMA Resolution on Tuberculosis, adopted by the same WMA General Assembly, finds that “radiological detection and sputum examination targeted at high-risk subjects” including migrants, the homeless, and prisoners, “continues to be an essential element of tuberculosis prevention.” Given that “tuberculosis is a problem affecting over 9 million people every year and ranks among the leading infectious diseases with an annual incidence rate of 1%,” mitigating conditions conducive to its spread seems a worthy public health goal. Further, the WMA Background Document on the Declaration of Ottowa on Child Health (2009) asserts “children are entitled to be raised in a home with at least one care giving adult” and that “no child shall be homeless.” The health of individuals, families, and communities relies importantly on the availability of secure dwellings, food security, and health. In its 2011 Statement on Social Determinants of Health the WMA concludes: “While health care will attempt to pick up the pieces and repair the damage caused by premature ill health, it is these social, cultural, environmental, economical, and other factors that are the major causes of rates of illness and, in particular, the magnitude of health inequalities.” Several presentations at the 2013 Forum on Health, Homelessness and Poverty considered the health implications of poverty and homelessness. Amit Patel, Post-doctoral Research Fellow at George Mason University, presented work he has been conducting with Associate Professor Naoru Koizumi examining the health effects of deprivation from slums in India. Housing characterized by slum status lacks such attributes as sufficient living space, access to water and sanitation, and permanent structure. The preliminary results of their work indicate that housing-related deprivation does matter in explaining variations in health behaviors and outcomes, and their findings have potentially important implications for policymakers seeking to improve urban health. (Video of the presentation is available at http://www.ipsonet.org/conferences/forum-on-health-homelessness-and-poverty/fhhp-2013watch.) Other presentations focused on enhancing access to services for homeless individuals in order to improve both health and social outcomes. Caroline Bolas of Maryland SOAR (SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery) described her organization's initiatives to connect homeless individuals with Social Security Insurance or Social Security Disability Insurance benefits for which they are eligible by helping them to negotiate the morass of paperwork and procedures that can serve as roadblocks to accessing services. Bolas's commentary on this work is also included as an article in this issue of WMHP, in which she describes instances where individuals were able to obtain benefits, gain housing and access to health care, and subsequently show improvements in both mental and physical health. The aspiration of bringing together researchers who study medical and public health problems with practitioners who work to address those problems is to encourage fruitful dialogue leading to better targeted research, faster dissemination of knowledge, more informed practice, and evidence-based policy. World Medical & Health Policy facilitates these goals through the publication of relevant research, case studies and commentary, and the support of forums and symposia to promote face-to-face dialogue. Our related publications preceding this issue addressed “Health Services Use Among Veterans Using U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Mainstream Homeless Services” (Byrne, Montgomery, Treglia, Roberts, & Culhane, 2013) and a practitioner report on “Ensuring Appropriate Discharge Practices for Hospitalized Homeless Patients” (Hochron & Brown, 2013). The 2014 Forum on Health, Homelessness and Poverty, and a planned event focusing on Global Food Security, will further these efforts to improve health by addressing its determinants in critical areas and informing policy and practice. To this end, WMHP's next call for papers will ask authors to consider components of global food security for public health and policy. Bonnie Stabile is Research Assistant Professor in the School of Public Policy at George Mason University. Arnauld Nicogossian is Distinguished Research Professor and Director of the Center for Study of International Medical Policies and Practices, at the School of Public Policy, George Mason University. Otmar Kloiber is Secretary General of the World Medical Association.