ABSTRACT
Health constitutes a major success story of global development. All over the world, human health has improved substantially over the last 150 years. People everywhere live longer, healthier lives and grow taller than they did a few generations ago. Health also shows the major shortcoming of development, as millions of people still suffer sub-standard health in the midst of the wealthiest world humanity has ever seen. Despite dramatic improvements, global health differentials have remained high. The congruence of development and health is not accidental. They are closely interwoven: Without a healthy population, no country can develop, and without development, the people in a given country are unlikely to enjoy good health.
The health-development nexus has profoundly shaped human history connecting people beyond times and places. All development efforts of one generation necessarily build on the legacy of the preceding generation. These can be positive, such as material wellbeing, social welfare, and physiological capabilities. They can also be negative, such as environmental toxins, social and economic inequality, and climate change.
International organizations have contributed in important ways to the improvement of global health by promoting programs directed at disease mitigation or at social determinants of health. They have also taken an active role in trying to understand the underlying dynamics of health promotion.
