The Impact of development policies on health : a review of the literature

Abstract

A critical review of currently available evidence useful in assessing the ways in which policies for socioeconomic development can have an unintended negative impact on health. Noting that conditions conducive to ill health are frequently created or aggravated by ill-conceived development schemes, the book seeks to identify the likely causal associations between policy choice and health outcome and to offer advice on the consequences of different policy options. Throughout, particular attention is given to policies that result in an exacerbation of poverty with severe health consequences for the very poor. The book has five main chapters. The first responds to growing concern that macroeconomic changes, introduced in the context of economic adjustment or stabilization programmes, may aggravate poverty and cause a deterioration in nutritional status and health. The second chapter, devoted to agricultural policies, concentrates on policy and health linkages related to irrigation systems, pesticide use, land policies and resettlement, and agricultural research. Other chapters investigate policies designed to encourage industrial development and consider evidence of a wide range of health problems associated with uncontrolled trends in energy demand, supply, and use. The final chapter explores the various policy options used to improve urban housing, including sites-and-services programmes, the upgrading of slums and squatter settlements, and the use of housing standards and regulations. The book concludes with a call for planners, policy-makers, and researchers to be alert to the role of development policies as proximate and underlying causes of ill health