To Save Humanity

What Matters Most for a Healthy Future

Julio Frenk and Steven Hoffman

Nearly 100 short, accessible essays on today's most pressing topics, authored by leading global figures from politics, science, academia, and advocacy
Contributors include luminaries, former presidents, and celebrated dignitaries from all sectors of society
Taken together, can serve as a primer of current world events and a prescriptive to-do list for future policies and interventions

To Save Humanity

What Matters Most for a Healthy Future

Julio Frenk and Steven Hoffman

Description

"The UN was not created to take mankind to heaven, but to save humanity from hell." --Dag Hammarskjöld, United Nations Secretary-General 1953-1961

The turn of the 21st century was an objective low point in the history of human health: AIDS was scourging Africa, millions of women died each year in child birth, and billions suffered under malnourishment and poverty. In response, the United Nations launched its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), an ambitious charter that since 2000 has measurably reduced the worldwide burdens of poverty, hunger, and disease.

With the MDGs set to expire in 2015, continued progress on these fronts is anything but certain. In addition to the persisting threats of the 20th century, globalization has sped the development of new threats--pandemics, climate change, chronic disease--that now threaten rich and poor countries equally.

"To Save Humanity" is a collection of short, honest essays on what single issue matters most for the future of global health. Authored by the world's leading voices from science, politics, and social advocacy, this collection is both a primer on the major issues of our time and a potential blueprint for post-2015 health and development. This unparalleled collection will provide illuminating and thought-provoking reading for anyone invested in our collective future and well-being.

To Save Humanity

What Matters Most for a Healthy Future

Julio Frenk and Steven Hoffman

1
Harnessing Women's Agency
Fazle Hasan Abed

2
Democratizing International Development
Rebecca Affolder

3
Systems Thinking
Irene A. Agyepong

4
Leadership for Health Equity
Recep Akdag

5
Why Universal Health Coverage?
Sudhir Anand

6
Governance and Leadership for Health
Michelle Bachelet

7
Prioritizing Vulnerable Populations
Joyce Banda

8
The Internet Didn't Kill News
Julia Belluz

9
The Power of Vaccines
Seth Berkley

10
Improving Health by Addressing Poverty
Ela Bhatt

11
Biosocial Education for All
Agnes Binagwaho

12
City Leadership on Climate Change
Michael Bloomberg

13
Health is Not Alone
Albina du Boisrouvray

14
Education First, Health Will Follow
Irina Bokova

15
Pandemic's One-Two-Three Punch
Larry Brilliant

16
Equality is the Future
Gro Harlem Brundtland

17
Prioritizing Health in Politics
Felipe Calderón

18
Committing to Unbridled Collaboration
Ray Chambers

19
A New Philanthropy
Gerald L. Chan

20
Climate's Big Health Warning
Margaret Chan

21
Tackling Obesity and Overweight
Helen Clark

22
Preventing Premature Deaths
Bill Clinton

23
HIV Treatment, a Moral Duty
Paul Collier

24
The Power of Science
Francis S. Collins

25
Whose life is it?
Nigel Crisp

26
Security for Our Shared Home
Suraya Dalil

27
The Drugs Don't Work
Sally C. Davies

28
Vision 2020 - and Beyond
Mark Dybul

29
Achieving Social Equity
Carissa F. Etienne

30
Equity, Not Only Effectiveness
Paul Farmer

31
A Global CDC and FDA
Richard Feachem

32
A Universal Flu Vaccine
Harvey V. Fineberg

33
Accountability is One Big Idea
Colleen M. Flood

34
The Power of Knowledge
Julio Frenk

35
Better Information Will Save Lives
Thomas R. Frieden

36
Communicable Before Non-Communicable Diseases
Laurie Garrett

37
Human-Centered Design
Melinda Gates

38
A data revolution in health
Amanda Glassman

39
Non-Drug Interventions Also Work
Paul Glasziou

40
Investing in Health Outcomes
Tore Godal

41
Imagining Global Health with Justice
Lawrence O. Gostin

42
Putting People First
Teguest Guerma

43
The Big Health Data Future
Angel Gurría

44
Standing Up to Big Tobacco
Jane Halton

45
Safe Food and Medical Products
Margaret A. Hamburg

46
Climate Change is Here
Katharine Hayhoe

47
A Convenient Defense: Defining Affordability
David L. Heymann

48
A Science of Global Strategy
Steven J. Hoffman

49
Time for Renewal
Arianna Huffington

50
Reliable, Unbiased, Reproducible Evidence
John P.A. Ioannidis

51
Technology and Healthcare in Africa
Jay Ireland

52
Love is the Cure
Elton John

53
Multi-Sectoral Investments for Health
Mustapha Sidiki Kaloko

54
Secondary Schooling for Girls
Angélique Kidjo

55
Getting Health Delivery Right
Jim Yong Kim

56
Closing the Pain Divide
Felicia Knaul

57
Equity in Child Survival
Anthony Lake

58
Evidence-Informed Health Systems
John N. Lavis

59
Ignorance about Causes of Death
Alan Lopez

60
Five Pillars of Wisdom
Adetokunbo O. Lucas

61
Keeping the Promise to Children
Graça Machel

62
Embracing Community Innovation
Mathura Mahendren

63
Fairness and Health Equity
Michael Marmot

64
Medicines Must Be Safer
Malebona Precious Matsoso

65
From Hegemony to Partnership
Anne Mills

66
Health in the Global Economy
Suerie Moon

67
Disability and a Healthy Society
Chaeli Mycroft

68
Fusion Fund for Health
Sania Nishtar

69
Health and Not Health Care
Anders Nordström

70
Diet for a Healthy Future
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

71
Global Social Protection in Health
Gorik Ooms

72
Inequities in Adolescent's Health
Zulma Ortiz

73
Sharing Financial Responsibilities
Trygve Ottersen

74
We're All in this Together
Sean Penn

75
No Health without Rights
Navanethem Pillay

76
No Magic Bullet
Peter Piot

77
The Health Impact Fund
Thomas Pogge

78
Value-Based Health Care Delivery
Michael E. Porter

80
Universal Ideas / Local Institutions
Mariana Mota Prado

81
From Pulse to Planet
K. Srinath Reddy

82
A War on Tuberculosis
Zain Rizvi

83
Universal Health Coverage
Judith Rodin

84
Regulating Antimicrobials and Resistance
John-Arne Røttingen

85
Who Will Lead?
Simon Rushton

86
The Rwandan Consensus
Richard Sezibera

87
Ending Preventable Child Death
Rajiv Shah

88
Transformative Leadership
Kenji Shibuya

89
Global Health Citizenship
Michel Sidibé

90
Harmonizing Health
Akinwande Oluwole "Wole" Soyinka

91
Public Health 2.0
Jonas Gahr Støre

92
Tax Reform
David Stuckler

93
Investing in a Grand Convergence
Larry Summers

94
Health in a Multi-Polar World
Keizo Takemi

95
Midwives Save Women's Lives
Christy Turlington Burns

96
Smart Data
Kent Walker

To Save Humanity

What Matters Most for a Healthy Future

Julio Frenk and Steven Hoffman

Author Information

Julio Frenk, MD, MPH, PhD, is Dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and T&G Angelopoulos Professor of Public Health & International Development. He is an eminent authority on global health who served as the Assistant Director-General of the World Health Organization and Senior Fellow of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He received the Clinton Global Citizen Award for changing "the way practitioners and policy makers across the world think about health."

Steven J. Hoffman, BHSc, MA, JD, is an Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Global Strategy Lab at the University of Ottawa, Visiting Assistant Professor of Global Health at Harvard University, and Assistant Professor of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics (Part-Time) at McMaster University. He previously worked for the Ontario Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care, World Health Organization and the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General.

Contributors:

Fazle Hasan Abed
Founder & Chair, BRAC

Rebecca Affolder
Global Health Adviser, United Nations Secretary-General's Office

Irene A. Agyepong
Professor, University of Ghana

Recep Akdag
Former Minister of Health, Republic of Turkey

Sudhir Anand
Professor, University of Oxford

Michelle Bachelet
President, Republic of Chile

Joyce Banda
Former President, Republic of Malawi

Julia Belluz
Health Reporter, Vox.com

Seth Berkley
CEO, GAVI Alliance

Ela Bhatt
Founder, Self-Employed Women's Association of India

Agnes Binagwaho
Minister of Health, Republic of Rwanda

Michael Bloomberg
Former Mayor, New York City

Albina du Boisrouvray
Founder, FXB Foundation and FXB International

Irina Bokova
Director-General, UNESCO

Larry Brilliant
President & CEO, Skoll Global Threats Fund

Gro Harlem Brundtland
Deputy Chair, The Elders

Felipe Calderón
Former President, Mexico

Ray Chambers
Special Envoy for Financing the Health MDGs & Malaria, United Nations

Gerald L. Chan
Co-Founder, Morningside Group

Margaret Chan
Director-General, World Health Organization

Helen Clark
Administrator, United Nations Development Programme

Bill Clinton
Former President, United States of America

Paul Collier
Professor, University of Oxford

Francis S. Collins
Director, U.S. National Institutes of Health

Nigel Crisp
Member, U.K. House of Lords

Suraya Dalil
Minister of Public Health, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Sally C. Davies
Chief Medical Officer, UK Department of Health

Esther Duflo
Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mark Dybul
Executive Director, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, & Malaria

Carissa F. Etienne
Director, Pan American Health Organization

Paul Farmer
Co-founder, Partners In Health

Richard Feachem
Director, UCSF Global Health Group

Harvey V. Fineberg
Former President, Institute of Medicine

Colleen M. Flood
Professor, University of Ottawa

Julio Frenk
Dean, Harvard School of Public Health

Thomas R. Frieden
Director, U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

Laurie Garrett
Pulitzer Prize-winning Journalist, Council on Foreign Relations

Melinda Gates
Co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Amanda Glassman
Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development

Paul Glasziou
Professor, Bond University

Tore Godal
Special Advisor to Prime Minister, Kingdom of Norway

Lawrence O. Gostin
Professor, Georgetown University

Teguest Guerma
Director-General, AMREF Health Africa

Angel Gurría
Secretary-General, OECD

Jane Halton
Secretary, Australian Department of Finance

Margaret A. Hamburg
Commissioner, U.S. Food & Drug Administration

Katharine Hayhoe
Associate Professor, Texas Tech University

David L. Heymann
Chair, Public Health England

Steven J. Hoffman
Assistant Professor, University of Ottawa

Arianna Huffington
Chair & President, Huffington Post Media Group

John P.A. Ioannidis
Professor, Stanford University

Jay Ireland
President & CEO, GE Africa

Elton John
Founder, Elton John AIDS Foundation

Mustapha Sidiki Kaloko
Commissioner for Social Affairs, African Union

Angélique Kidjo
Founder, Batonga Foundation

Jim Yong Kim
President, World Bank Group

Felicia Knaul
Director, Harvard Global Equity Initiative

Anthony Lake
Executive Director, UNICEF

John N. Lavis
Professor, McMaster University

Alan Lopez
Professor, University of Melbourne

Adetokunbo O. Lucas
Adjunct Professor, Harvard School of Public Health

Graça Machel
Former First Lady, Republic of Mozambique & Republic of South Africa

Mathura Mahendren
BHSc Candidate, McMaster University

Michael Marmot
Professor, University College London

Malebona Precious Matsoso
Director-General, South African Department of Health

Anne Mills
Vice Director, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Suerie Moon
Lecturer, Harvard School of Public Health

Chaeli Mycroft
Founder, The Chaeli Campain

Sania Nishtar
Founder, Heartfile

Anders Nordström
Ambassador for Global Health, Kingdom of Sweden

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Minister of Finance, Federal Republic of Nigeria

Gorik Ooms
Professor, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp

Zulma Ortiz
Health Specialist, UNICEF Argentina

Trygve Ottersen
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Bergen

Sean Penn
Founder & CEO, J/P Haitian Relief Organization

Navanethem Pillay
Former High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations

Peter Piot
Director, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Thomas Pogge
Professor, Yale University

Michael E. Porter
Professor, Harvard Business School

Mariana Mota Prado
Associate Dean, University of Toronto

K. Srinath Reddy
President, Public Health Foundation of India

Zain Rizvi
JD Candidate, Yale Law School

Judith Rodin
President, Rockefeller Foundation

John-Arne Røttingen
Division Director, Norwegian Institute of Public Health

Simon Rushton
Faculty Research Fellow, University of Sheffield

Richard Sezibera
Secretary-General, East Africa Community

Rajiv Shah
Administrator, U.S. Agency of International Development

Kenji Shibuya
Professor, University of Tokyo

Michel Sidibé
Executive Director, UNAIDS

Akinwande Oluwole "Wole" Soyinka
Laureate, Nobel Prize in Literature

Jonas Gahr Støre
Leader, Norwegian Labour Party

David Stuckler
Professor, University of Oxford

Larry Summers
President Emeritus, Harvard University

Keizo Takemi
Member, Japanese House of Councilors

Christy Turlington Burns
Founder, Every Mother Counts

Kent Walker
General Counsel, Google Inc.