ABSTRACT
The 2014 World Health Organization (WHO) report on health in the African region described the widely held perception that there has been no progress on improving health in the region as a ‘convenient untruth’ (WHO, 2014: xx). Harmonization for Health in Africa (HHA), a consortium of international organisations working on health and well-being issues in the continent, demonstrated that Africa accounted for only 11 per cent of the global population but sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 49 per cent of maternal deaths, 50 per cent of child deaths under 5 years and 67 per cent of HIV/AIDS cases (HHA, 2011). Despite the wider economic and social challenges facing the continent that are discussed elsewhere in more detail in this book, in fact considerable achievements have been made. However, this said, there is considerable room for progress, both in terms of global health indicators and in terms of wider enhancements in public health outcomes for the people of Africa. This chapter sets out to briefly discuss the major developments in health and identify the health challenges facing the continent. This comprises a brief discussion of the background to health issues in Africa, examining some of the latest data, in order to discern some patterns or trajectories. The chapter then explores the relationships between health and development, before considering some of the latest trends in the area of health.
