Editorial - The global financial melt down and the need for a political economy of health promotion

Abstract

"The future looks decidedly depressing, not only because of the global financial crisis (GFC) but also the response to it. From the perspective of health promoters, it is even more depressing when we set the GFC alongside global warming, the oil and energy crisis and the food crisis. They are all interrelated. They all point to a truly major health crisis – especially for the poor of the world. Financial crises generally affect health in different countries in different ways.1 The results depend on a mix of factors – reductions in family income lead to reduced medical spending and to malnutrition; reductions in public spending in poor countries result in cuts in public health services; informal caregivers enter the labour force, decreasing their ability to care for those who are more dependent; poverty and inequality are increased and so on."