Assessing the health benefits of development interventions
Lucy S. Tusting, Sandy Cairncross, Ramona Ludolph, Raman Velayudhan, Anne L. Wilson, Steve W. Lindsay
Abstract
To achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3—healthy lives and well-being for all people—development interventions (such as improved housing, water and sanitation) are critically needed in addition to biomedical interventions (such as drugs, vaccines and insecticides). \nHowever, many development interventions, such as house screening for vector-borne disease control, remain neglected in global health policy today. \nA major reason for this neglect is a requirement for evidence from rigorous systematic reviews and randomised controlled trials, which were designed for biomedical interventions and are poorly-suited to most development interventions. \nA new framework for assessing the health benefits of development interventions is urgently needed for the health sector to support and fully leverage the potential of the SDGs.