moral imagination the missing component in global health全球健康道德想象力失踪的组成部分.pdfVIP

Open access, freely available online Essay Moral Imagination: The Missing Component in Global Health Solomon R. Benatar he deplorable state of global health and the failure to Timprove this state have been debated extensively. Recent editorials in the Lancet in relation to the failure of Roll Back Malaria and the potential failure of the 3 by 5 programme [1,2] illustrate how disappointment, surprise, and admonitions about such failures are usually followed by optimism about the success envisaged from future efforts [1,3]. There are several possible reasons for our failure to make adequate progress in improving global health. First, it seems that there is generally more interest in doing research to acquire new knowledge than in using existing knowledge, unless it is commercially profi table—illustrating how market forces are a more powerful infl uence on the practice of medicine than health needs [4]. Second, concern for those who are most severely affected DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0020400.g001 by ill health seems to be generally Global distribution of wealth transient, perhaps because they are (Figure adapted from [68]) anonymous and out of sight, but maybe also because their lives are less highly valued [5,6]. Third, there is a tendency needed to improve global health not a suffi cient solution for improving to focus on new technologies through [18,19]. global health. I conclude with the idea “silo” (narrowly contained) approaches While it is entirely appropriate to that greater moral imagination (the to improving global health [7–9]. consider scientifi c and technological abil