The editorial is published in German and French language only.
Basel, 6 November 2013
How can global health policy be structured to ensure that even the poorest people in developing countries have access to health services? That's one of the topics of the ongoing international debate on the new development goals for the period beyond 2015. The World Health Organization (WHO) is advocating universal health coverage (UHC) as a way of making health services affordable and accessible to all. At this year's MMS symposium, we will be discussing how UHC is defined and what form it should take in the light of the new development policy agenda.
Leprosy can be eliminated
In September 2013, the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development and a panel of leading experts presented a new strategy to curb the incidence of leprosy at the International Leprosy Congress in Brussels, Belgium. The strategy is based on a consensus reached at an expert meeting convened by the Novartis Foundation in Geneva in June 2013. Three pillars are at the core of this strategy: early diagnosis and prompt treatment, tracing and prophylactic treatment of contacts of newly diagnosed patients, combined with a strict surveillance and response system.