Global Health: Are We Worried About the Wrong Things? September 2, 2009

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Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2009/06/12/Health_Sustainability_and_Globalization

Stephen Leeder argues that while the media tends to focus on communicable diseases, non-communicable illnesses are often more deadly. He illustrates this by stating that of 1000 people with swine flu, only one would be likely to die in a year, whereas heart disease kills at a higher rate.

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Pandemics like SARS and swine flu capture the world's attention. But public health issues like obesity in developed countries and AIDS in the developing world are greater killers.

As life expectancy increases, health care costs seem destined to spiral out of control. The financial crisis is forcing belt tightening around the world. How can we achieve sustainability in human health? - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Stephen Leeder is a professor of public health and community medicine at the University of Sydney and Director of the Menzies Centre for Health Policy. He has a long history of involvement in public health research, educational development and policy. His research interests as a clinical epidemiologist have been mainly asthma and cardiovascular disease. His interest in public health was stimulated by spending 1968 in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.