The World Health Report 1995--bridging the gaps.

At the request of WHO's governing bodies, the first of a new series of annual reports was launched at the World Health Assembly in May 1995. The report is a self-contained, concise and analytical publication, which provides a review of the global health situation and needs and of problems faced by health systems, in order to recommend priorities for international health action and the Organization's activities in that context. The target readership is non-medical professionals such as policy-makers, planners for development, heads of donor agencies and other international funding institutions, financial experts and the educated public, as well as opinion-makers in the media and elsewhere. This article summarizes the first chapter of The World Health Report 1995--Bridging the gaps (1).