A clear yet wide-ranging introduction to the state of health worldwide, exploring the ways in which health provision is often determined by ethnicity, class, and gender. Starting with a brief history of medical progress, this guide delves into current politics of health in the contexts of big business and private health provision, media, gender, and the environment.

Shereen Usdin is a medical doctor and a public health specialist. She is co-founder of the internationally acclaimed Soul City for Health and Development Communication in South Africa and works in the areas of development communication, HIV/AIDS, violence against women, and human rights.