POLITICS-Election Manoeuvres

and policies.
It is against this background, and in the face of the new challenges being posed by infectious diseases, particularly in developing countries, that the WHO's new vision on health priorities is disturbing. For there is no gainsaying the fact that if the emerging threat from infectious diseases is to be stalled it requires a multi-pronged approach which includes interventions at various levels outside conventional health care. The WHO's about-face on primary level care, inevitable in the face of its emphasis on chronic diseascs, will further damage primary level care, which is already feeling the effects of the state's disinterest in welfare.