Global Health Estimates

Estimates of global health indicators—which give insight into death and disease rates, document advances in development, and help policymakers monitor progress—are absolutely essential for improving global health. Estimates, however, are always imperfect and are sometimes fiercely debated. Recently, new players from academia have entered the game of global health estimation, once the chief domain of United Nations agencies such as WHO. This has created some controversy but also an opportunity to reflect. In November 2010, PLoS Medicine published a cluster of six articles from a series of experts that provide insights and opinion on what estimates mean for global health and how to move forward with better data, measurement, coordination, and leadership. The cluster includes the perspectives of WHO, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), and stakeholders from low- and middle-income countries, as well as the PLoS Medicine Editors.

Image Credit: D. Sharon Pruitt

 

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