Tips and Pointers
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Understanding Data
The following are definitions of common terms used to describe the burden of a disease. Additional definitions can be found in Kaiser's global health glossary.
Prevalence: The number of people with a particular condition at any given time (e.g., the number of people who are HIV positive). It can be expressed as a total number of people, or as a rate (e.g., 20 per 1,000 people). In comparing two countries, a rate generally gives a better measure of the burden of a disease because it adjusts for the size of the population.
Incidence: The number of new incidents in a population within a period of time (e.g., the number of people who became newly infected with HIV in a year). It can be expressed as a total or as a rate relative to the size of the population.
Deaths: Generally refers to the number of people who died of causes related to a disease within a given year.
Disability Adjusted Life Year (DALY): A measure of the burden of a disease, which can be interpreted as the loss of one year of healthy life. It combines the number of years of life lost due to premature death and an adjusted estimate of the number of years of healthy life lost due to disability.
Which Countries Are the Focus of U.S. Health Policy?
Most global health aid goes to low- and middle-income countries. The World Bank divides countries according to their gross national income (GNI) per capita -- low-income countries are those with 2008 income of $975 or less, while middle-income countries have average income of $976 to $11,905. The classification of all countries can be found here.
The U.S. government provides health aid to a large number of low- and middle-income countries. PEPFAR's funding is concentrated in 31 countries heavily affected by HIV, including 15 original "focus countries." The President's Malaria Initiative works with 15 African countries and the Neglected Tropical Diseases Initiative partners with countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Global Health News-Making Events
A number of events take place annually or regularly, often serving as a focus for global health news coverage and an opportunity for policy-oriented announcements. Major such recurring events include:
- The president of the U.S. releases a budget proposal each year on or before the first Monday in February, which is followed by a Congressional budget resolution that sets the overall spending targets and a series of appropriations bills.
- The World Health Assembly -- the decision-making body of the World Health Organization that includes delegations from member states -- meets annually, generally in May.
- The G8 countries hold a summit each year, generally in June or July. The 2010 summit will be held June 25-27 in Muskoka, Canada.
- The International AIDS Society organizes the International AIDS Conference in even years, generally in July/August. The 2010 conference is in Vienna, Austria, and the 2012 conference will be in Washington, DC. In odd years, the IAS organizes the more scientific pathogenesis conference; the 2011 meeting will be in Rome, Italy.
- UNAIDS releases a report on the global HIV/AIDS epidemic biannually in even years (typically in July), with an update in odd years (typically in advance of World AIDS Day, December 1st).
- The U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York occurs annually in September. In 2010, there will be a High-level Plenary Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals, which will take place from 20-22 September.
- The Clinton Global Initiative brings together leaders from around the world at an annual meeting in New York, timed around the U.N. General Assembly meeting.
- The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization releases an annual report on the State of Food and Agriculture, generally in advance of World Food Day on October 16.
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