We in health care need to do a better job of supporting efforts for prevention in other sectors -- like child care, education, housing, and urban planning -- that are the largest determinants of who gets sick in the first place.
The other parts of the equation for success were the level of support for prevention and the way in which the government developed its program, which involved more than 25 government, community and clergy sectors.
These include law enforcement agencies on the federal, state, and local levels, as well as local schools, the military, and private businesses that offer support for prevention and treatment programs.
This undermines public and political support for prevention, and costs us all -- in the currency of both dollars and human potential.
Support for prevention was only second to a proposal to prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage because of age, medical history, or pre-existing conditions, among a range of health reform proposals we tested.
While litigation and budget crises had already set changes in motion, the $10 billion per year corrections system price tag (up 300% from thirty years ago) remained in tact, along with severe racial disparities, increased spending on county jails and a lack of support for prevention in the communities hardest hit by crime.
Youth programmes should also be strengthened through training, provision of IEC material and support for prevention efforts.
Future programmes may focus on the prevention of HIV transmission and securing greater male support for prevention of mother-to-child transmission strategies.
Support for prevention and treatment An estimated 600,000 people, more than a third of them women, are living with HIV in Brazil.
"The trained health workers can immediately apply the newly acquired knowledge on malnutrition treatment, as well as provide support for prevention and treatment at the community level.
