World health report : 2002

Overview

The World Health Report 2002 represents one of the largest research projects ever undertaken by the World Health Organization. In collaborating with experts worldwide, WHO has collected and analyzed evidence that will have implications for global health for many years to come. Although the report carries some ominous warnings, it also opens the door to a healthier future for all countries – if they are prepared to act boldly now.

The report describes the amount of disease, disability and death in the world today that can be attributed to a selected number of the most important risks to human health. This is of great interest in itself but, more importantly, the report also calculates how much of this present burden could be avoided in the next couple of decades if the same risk factors were reduced from now onwards.