WHO: Noncommunicable diseases: the slow motion disaster
This chapter of the WHO’s “Ten years in public health 2007-2017” report focuses on “the rise of chronic noncommunicable diseases. Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases, once linked only to affluent societies, are now global, and the poor suffer the most. These diseases share four risk factors: tobacco use, alcohol abuse, unhealthy diets, and physical inactivity. All four lie in non-health sectors, requiring collaboration across all of government and all of society to combat them…” (May 2017)

WHO: Other dimensions of the NCD crisis: from mental health, aging, dementia and malnutrition to deaths on the roads, violence, and disability
In this chapter, WHO “draw[s] attention to conditions that impact the health and safety of all people. This year’s focus on depression builds awareness of mental health. Healthy aging is a key priority, including assisting those who battle dementia. The fight against malnutrition now includes the opposite extreme of obesity. Road deaths, the biggest killer of people aged 15-29, are targeted, as is support for people with disabilities and those suffering violence, especially women and children…” (May 2017)

WHO: From primary health care to universal coverage — the ‘affordable dream’
In this chapter, WHO discusses “a renewed focus on primary health care [since] the launch of the 2008 World Health Report. When countries sought guidance on financing health care, WHO commissioned a 2010 report on universal health coverage, a concept then pioneered as central to the Sustainable Development Goals and the ambition to leave no one behind…” (May 2017).

WHO: Health security: is the world better prepared?
For this chapter, WHO writes, “Lessons learned from the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2014 were the catalyst to creating our new Health Emergencies Programme, enabling a faster, more effective response to outbreaks and emergencies. We help countries meet the International Health Regulations and enable R&D collaboration to develop new vaccines and treatments … Subsequent outbreaks of Zika and yellow fever have shown that we are moving in the right direction but more work is needed to ensure that the world is better prepared to handle the next epidemic…” (May 2017).