Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- List of Abbreviations
- Introduction: Imagining South Asian Futures
- Section I South Asia as a Region
- Section II State Relations
- Section III Development
- Section IV Human Well-Being
- Chapter 27 Population Dynamics, Economic Prospects and Regional Coherence
- Chapter 28 Towards Cooperation for Poverty Reduction?
- Chapter 29 Health Challenges
- Chapter 30 Regional Disease Dynamics
- Chapter 31 Education: Time Bomb or Silver Bullet?
- Chapter 32 Scholarship in and on South Asia
- Chapter 33 Rights and Justice: A Prospective View
- Chapter 34 Patriarchy, Power and Paradox: Dreaming Gender Equality and Development
- Chapter 35 Women in South Asia
- Chapter 36 Media: New Trends, Old Problems
- Chapter 37 Sports: Passion and Industry
- About the Authors
- Bibliography
- Index
Chapter 30 - Regional Disease Dynamics
from Section IV - Human Well-Being
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 September 2013
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- List of Abbreviations
- Introduction: Imagining South Asian Futures
- Section I South Asia as a Region
- Section II State Relations
- Section III Development
- Section IV Human Well-Being
- Chapter 27 Population Dynamics, Economic Prospects and Regional Coherence
- Chapter 28 Towards Cooperation for Poverty Reduction?
- Chapter 29 Health Challenges
- Chapter 30 Regional Disease Dynamics
- Chapter 31 Education: Time Bomb or Silver Bullet?
- Chapter 32 Scholarship in and on South Asia
- Chapter 33 Rights and Justice: A Prospective View
- Chapter 34 Patriarchy, Power and Paradox: Dreaming Gender Equality and Development
- Chapter 35 Women in South Asia
- Chapter 36 Media: New Trends, Old Problems
- Chapter 37 Sports: Passion and Industry
- About the Authors
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Introduction
South Asia has roughly about a fourth of the world's population. Nearly 50 percent live below the poverty line. Overall, South Asia is relatively more disease and disability prone along with Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean regions, with life expectancy at birth, healthy life expectancy at birth and neonatal mortality rate being second worst only to Africa. The region has significant variation in terms of disease susceptibility prevalence, transmission and prevention. Nearly all countries show increasing vulnerability to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), mostly due to lifestyle choices and pre-existing genetic dispositions. Rather surprisingly, NCDs cause about 60 percent of all deaths in the region and South Asia also accounts for nearly 50 percent of the global incidence of death due to such diseases. The susceptibility to communicable diseases (CDs), or infectious diseases, varies tremendously depending on environmental, public infrastructure and health constraints. CDs are responsible for the overwhelming majority (more than two-thirds) of deaths in children (aged under 5 years) in the region.
Many health officials and organizations expect these trends in CD prevalence and spread to continue and increase in the future. According to World Health Organization (WHO) projections the region will be one of two (the other being Africa) with marked increases in CDs; South Asia will surpass Africa in terms of mortality associated with certain diseases such as hepatitis B and C and dengue.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- South Asia 2060Envisioning Regional Futures, pp. 238 - 245Publisher: Anthem PressPrint publication year: 2013