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. …
Read moreNon-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.
