WHO year in review 2006

The year saw some important achievements and some setbacks, some steady progress and some surprises requiring emergency action. The work of many people helped to propel the momentum to reach the health-related goals set out in the Millennium Declaration. These goals aim to reduce childhood and maternal mortality and lower the number of deaths caused by the major infectious diseases: HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. Above all, when we look back over the year, we see the huge diversity of challenges - from the dramatic rise of chronic diseases to the looming threat of an influenza pandemic, from persistent malnutrition in Africa to an epidemic of childhood obesity in Europe. The World Health Report 2006 drew attention to a critical shortage of health workers that is jeopardizing the delivery of essential care in 57 countries. This problem combines with the weakness of delivery systems, especially in reaching the poor, to define one of the greatest obstacles to progress in public health.