Countries in the process of change with economic growth, that is, an increase in production, per capita consumption, and income. The process of economic growth involves better utilization of natural and human resources, which results in a change in the social, political, and economic structures.

Countries that have reached a level of economic achievement through an increase of production, per capita income and consumption, and utilization of natural and human resources.

The concept pertaining to the health status of inhabitants of the world.

The interaction of persons or groups of persons representing various nations in the pursuit of a common goal or interest.

The quality or state of relating to or affecting two or more nations. (After Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed)

A specialized agency of the United Nations designed as a coordinating authority on international health work; its aim is to promote the attainment of the highest possible level of health by all peoples.

The largest of the continents. It was known to the Romans more specifically as what we know today as Asia Minor. The name comes from at least two possible sources: from the Assyrian asu (to rise) or from the Sanskrit usa (dawn), both with reference to its being the land of the rising sun, i.e., eastern as opposed to Europe, to the west. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p82 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p34)

Comparison of various psychological, sociological, or cultural factors in order to assess the similarities or diversities occurring in two or more different cultures or societies.

The total number of cases of a given disease in a specified population at a designated time. It is differentiated from INCIDENCE, which refers to the number of new cases in the population at a given time.

The geographic area of Latin America in general and when the specific country or countries are not indicated. It usually includes Central America, South America, Mexico, and the islands of the Caribbean.

The region of southwest Asia and northeastern Africa usually considered as extending from Libya on the west to Afghanistan on the east. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988)

The collective designation of three organizations with common membership: the European Economic Community (Common Market), the European Coal and Steel Community, and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). It was known as the European Community until 1994. It is primarily an economic union with the principal objectives of free movement of goods, capital, and labor. Professional services, social, medical and paramedical, are subsumed under labor. The constituent countries are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. (The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997, p842)

An international organization whose members include most of the sovereign nations of the world with headquarters in New York City. The primary objectives of the organization are to maintain peace and security and to achieve international cooperation in solving international economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian problems.

All of Africa except Northern Africa (AFRICA, NORTHERN).

Decisions, usually developed by government policymakers, for determining present and future objectives pertaining to the health care system.

The number of new cases of a given disease during a given period in a specified population. It also is used for the rate at which new events occur in a defined population. It is differentiated from PREVALENCE, which refers to all cases, new or old, in the population at a given time.

An infant during the first month after birth.

The process of leaving one's country to establish residence in a foreign country.

Social and economic factors that characterize the individual or group within the social structure.

An aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, environmental exposure, or inborn or inherited characteristic, which, on the basis of epidemiologic evidence, is known to be associated with a health-related condition considered important to prevent.

Ongoing scrutiny of a population (general population, study population, target population, etc.), generally using methods distinguished by their practicability, uniformity, and frequently their rapidity, rather than by complete accuracy.

The geographical area of Asia comprising BORNEO; BRUNEI; CAMBODIA; INDONESIA; LAOS; MALAYSIA; the MEKONG VALLEY; MYANMAR (formerly Burma), the PHILIPPINES; SINGAPORE; THAILAND; and VIETNAM.

Aspects of health and disease related to travel.

The concept concerned with all aspects of providing and distributing health services to a patient population.

Predetermined sets of questions used to collect data - clinical data, social status, occupational group, etc. The term is often applied to a self-completed survey instrument.

Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time.

Branch of medicine concerned with the prevention and control of disease and disability, and the promotion of physical and mental health of the population on the international, national, state, or municipal level.

Sudden increase in the incidence of a disease. The concept includes EPIDEMICS and PANDEMICS.

The smallest continent and an independent country, comprising six states and two territories. Its capital is Canberra.

The islands of the Pacific Ocean divided into MICRONESIA; MELANESIA; and POLYNESIA (including NEW ZEALAND). The collective name Oceania includes the aforenamed islands, adding AUSTRALIA; NEW ZEALAND; and the Malay Archipelago (INDONESIA). (Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p910, 880)

The general name for NORTH AMERICA; CENTRAL AMERICA; and SOUTH AMERICA unspecified or combined.

Revenues or receipts accruing from business enterprise, labor, or invested capital.

The largest country in North America, comprising 10 provinces and three territories. Its capital is Ottawa.

The geographical area of Africa comprising ALGERIA; EGYPT; LIBYA; MOROCCO; and TUNISIA. It includes also the vast deserts and oases of the Sahara. It is often referred to as North Africa, French-speaking Africa, or the Maghreb. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p856)

The science of utilization, distribution, and consumption of services and materials.

The degree to which individuals are inhibited or facilitated in their ability to gain entry to and to receive care and services from the health care system. Factors influencing this ability include geographic, architectural, transportational, and financial considerations, among others.

A systematic collection of factual data pertaining to health and disease in a human population within a given geographic area.

Includes the spectrum of human immunodeficiency virus infections that range from asymptomatic seropositivity, thru AIDS-related complex (ARC), to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

International organizations which provide health-related or other cooperative services.

A situation in which the level of living of an individual, family, or group is below the standard of the community. It is often related to a specific income level.

Systematic gathering of data for a particular purpose from various sources, including questionnaires, interviews, observation, existing records, and electronic devices. The process is usually preliminary to statistical analysis of the data.

Programs of surveillance designed to prevent the transmission of disease by any means from person to person or from animal to man.

Organized services to administer immunization procedures in the prevention of various diseases. The programs are made available over a wide range of sites: schools, hospitals, public health agencies, voluntary health agencies, etc. They are administered to an equally wide range of population groups or on various administrative levels: community, municipal, state, national, international.

The frequency of different ages or age groups in a given population. The distribution may refer to either how many or what proportion of the group. The population is usually patients with a specific disease but the concept is not restricted to humans and is not restricted to medicine.

The inhabitants of rural areas or of small towns classified as rural.

The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.

A course or method of action selected, usually by a government, from among alternatives to guide and determine present and future decisions.

Components of a national health care system which administer specific services, e.g., national health insurance.

Value of all final goods and services produced in a country in one year.

Formerly known as Siam, this is a Southeast Asian nation at the center of the Indochina peninsula. Bangkok is the capital city.

Parliamentary democracy located between France on the northeast and Portugual on the west and bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

The science dealing with the earth and its life, especially the description of land, sea, and air and the distribution of plant and animal life, including humanity and human industries with reference to the mutual relations of these elements. (From Webster, 3d ed)

The MEDITERRANEAN SEA, the MEDITERRANEAN ISLANDS, and the countries bordering on the sea collectively.

The area that lies between continental North and South America and comprises the Caribbean Sea, the West Indies, and the adjacent mainland regions of southern Mexico, Central America, Colombia, and Venezuela.

An acute infectious disease of humans, particularly children, caused by any of three serotypes of human poliovirus (POLIOVIRUS). Usually the infection is limited to the gastrointestinal tract and nasopharynx, and is often asymptomatic. The central nervous system, primarily the spinal cord, may be affected, leading to rapidly progressive paralysis, coarse FASCICULATION and hyporeflexia. Motor neurons are primarily affected. Encephalitis may also occur. The virus replicates in the nervous system, and may cause significant neuronal loss, most notably in the spinal cord. A rare related condition, nonpoliovirus poliomyelitis, may result from infections with nonpoliovirus enteroviruses. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp764-5)

Activities concerned with governmental policies, functions, etc.

The personal cost of acute or chronic disease. The cost to the patient may be an economic, social, or psychological cost or personal loss to self, family, or immediate community. The cost of illness may be reflected in absenteeism, productivity, response to treatment, peace of mind, or QUALITY OF LIFE. It differs from HEALTH CARE COSTS, meaning the societal cost of providing services related to the delivery of health care, rather than personal impact on individuals.

Age as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or the effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from AGING, a physiological process, and TIME FACTORS which refers only to the passage of time.

A republic in western Africa, south of NIGER between BENIN and CAMEROON. Its capital is Abuja.

All organized methods of funding.

The amounts spent by individuals, groups, nations, or private or public organizations for total health care and/or its various components. These amounts may or may not be equivalent to the actual costs (HEALTH CARE COSTS) and may or may not be shared among the patient, insurers, and/or employers.

People who leave their place of residence in one country and settle in a different country.

The number of males and females in a given population. The distribution may refer to how many men or women or what proportion of either in the group. The population is usually patients with a specific disease but the concept is not restricted to humans and is not restricted to medicine.

A republic in western Africa, south of BURKINA FASO and west of TOGO. Its capital is Accra.

A country in western Europe bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel, the Mediterranean Sea, and the countries of Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the principalities of Andorra and Monaco, and by the duchy of Luxembourg. Its capital is Paris.

A country spanning from central Asia to the Pacific Ocean.

That distinct portion of the institutional, industrial, or economic structure of a country that is controlled or owned by non-governmental, private interests.

A protozoan disease caused in humans by four species of the PLASMODIUM genus: PLASMODIUM FALCIPARUM; PLASMODIUM VIVAX; PLASMODIUM OVALE; and PLASMODIUM MALARIAE; and transmitted by the bite of an infected female mosquito of the genus ANOPHELES. Malaria is endemic in parts of Asia, Africa, Central and South America, Oceania, and certain Caribbean islands. It is characterized by extreme exhaustion associated with paroxysms of high FEVER; SWEATING; shaking CHILLS; and ANEMIA. Malaria in ANIMALS is caused by other species of plasmodia.

Preferentially rated health-related activities or functions to be used in establishing health planning goals. This may refer specifically to PL93-641.

A group of islands in the southwest Pacific. Its capital is Wellington. It was discovered by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1642 and circumnavigated by Cook in 1769. Colonized in 1840 by the New Zealand Company, it became a British crown colony in 1840 until 1907 when colonial status was terminated. New Zealand is a partly anglicized form of the original Dutch name Nieuw Zeeland, new sea land, possibly with reference to the Dutch province of Zeeland. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p842 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p378)

Method of measuring performance against established standards of best practice.

Maleness or femaleness as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from SEX CHARACTERISTICS, anatomical or physiological manifestations of sex, and from SEX DISTRIBUTION, the number of males and females in given circumstances.

Elements of limited time intervals, contributing to particular results or situations.

The provision of monetary resources including money or capital and credit; obtaining or furnishing money or capital for a purchase or enterprise and the funds so obtained. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed.)

Available manpower, facilities, revenue, equipment, and supplies to produce requisite health care and services.

The interchange of goods or commodities, especially on a large scale, between different countries or between populations within the same country. It includes trade (the buying, selling, or exchanging of commodities, whether wholesale or retail) and business (the purchase and sale of goods to make a profit). (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed, p411, p2005 & p283)

Number of deaths of children between one year of age to 12 years of age in a given population.

Inhaling and exhaling the smoke of burning TOBACCO.

Statistical interpretation and description of a population with reference to distribution, composition, or structure.

Any of the infectious diseases of man and other animals caused by species of MYCOBACTERIUM.

Termination of all transmission of infection by global extermination of the infectious agent through surveillance and containment (From Porta, A Dictionary of Epidemiology, 5th ed).

The decision process by which individuals, groups or institutions establish policies pertaining to plans, programs or procedures.

Created as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes in 1918. Yugoslavia became the official name in 1929. BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA; CROATIA; and SLOVENIA formed independent countries 7 April 1992. Macedonia became independent 8 February 1994 as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MACEDONIA REPUBLIC).

The geographical area of Africa comprising BENIN; BURKINA FASO; COTE D'IVOIRE; GAMBIA; GHANA; GUINEA; GUINEA-BISSAU; LIBERIA; MALI; MAURITANIA; NIGER; NIGERIA; SENEGAL; SIERRA LEONE; and TOGO.

Maternal deaths resulting from complications of pregnancy and childbirth in a given population.

The systems and processes involved in the establishment, support, management, and operation of registers, e.g., disease registers.

The availability of HEALTH PERSONNEL. It includes the demand and recruitment of both professional and allied health personnel, their present and future supply and distribution, and their assignment and utilization.

The branch of medicine concerned with diseases, mainly of parasitic origin, common in tropical and subtropical regions.

Research that involves the application of the natural sciences, especially biology and physiology, to medicine.

The use of statistical methods in the analysis of a body of literature to reveal the historical development of subject fields and patterns of authorship, publication, and use. Formerly called statistical bibliography. (from The ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, 1983)

A method of comparing the cost of a program with its expected benefits in dollars (or other currency). The benefit-to-cost ratio is a measure of total return expected per unit of money spent. This analysis generally excludes consideration of factors that are not measured ultimately in economic terms. Cost effectiveness compares alternative ways to achieve a specific set of results.

Exercise of governmental authority to control conduct.

The inhabitants of a city or town, including metropolitan areas and suburban areas.

Postnatal deaths from BIRTH to 365 days after birth in a given population. Postneonatal mortality represents deaths between 28 days and 365 days after birth (as defined by National Center for Health Statistics). Neonatal mortality represents deaths from birth to 27 days after birth.

The area of a nation's economy that is tax-supported and under government control.

Critical and exhaustive investigation or experimentation, having for its aim the discovery of new facts and their correct interpretation, the revision of accepted conclusions, theories, or laws in the light of newly discovered facts, or the practical application of such new or revised conclusions, theories, or laws. (Webster, 3d ed)

The geographical area of Asia comprising KAZAKHSTAN; KYRGYZSTAN; TAJIKISTAN; TURKMENISTAN; and UZBEKISTAN. The desert region of Kara Kum (Qara Qum) is largely in Turkmenistan and the desert region of Kyzyl Kum (Kizil Kum or Qizil Qum), is in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p233, 590, 636)

A historical and cultural entity dispersed across the wide geographical area of Europe, as opposed to the East, Asia, and Africa. The term was used by scholars through the late medieval period. Thereafter, with the impact of colonialism and the transmission of cultures, Western World was sometimes expanded to include the Americas. (Dr. James H. Cassedy, NLM History of Medicine Division)

The constant presence of diseases or infectious agents within a given geographic area or population group. It may also refer to the usual prevalence of a given disease with such area or group. It includes holoendemic and hyperendemic diseases. A holoendemic disease is one for which a high prevalent level of infection begins early in life and affects most of the child population, leading to a state of equilibrium such that the adult population shows evidence of the disease much less commonly than do children (malaria in many communities is a holoendemic disease). A hyperendemic disease is one that is constantly present at a high incidence and/or prevalence rate and affects all groups equally. (Last, A Dictionary of Epidemiology, 3d ed, p53, 78, 80)

Persons who have acquired academic or specialized training in countries other than that in which they are working. The concept excludes physicians for which FOREIGN MEDICAL GRADUATES is the likely heading.

A republic stretching from the Indian Ocean east to New Guinea, comprising six main islands: Java, Sumatra, Bali, Kalimantan (the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo), Sulawesi (formerly known as the Celebes) and Irian Jaya (the western part of New Guinea). Its capital is Djakarta. The ethnic groups living there are largely Chinese, Arab, Eurasian, Indian, and Pakistani; 85% of the peoples are of the Islamic faith.

Demographic and epidemiologic changes that have occurred in the last five decades in many developing countries and that are characterized by major growth in the number and proportion of middle-aged and elderly persons and in the frequency of the diseases that occur in these age groups. The health transition is the result of efforts to improve maternal and child health via primary care and outreach services and such efforts have been responsible for a decrease in the birth rate; reduced maternal mortality; improved preventive services; reduced infant mortality, and the increased life expectancy that defines the transition. (From Ann Intern Med 1992 Mar 15;116(6):499-504)

Somalia is located on the east coast of Africa on and north of the Equator and, with Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Kenya, is often referred to as the Horn of Africa. It comprises Italy's former Trust Territory of Somalia and the former British Protectorate of Somaliland. The capital is Mogadishu.

A republic in eastern Africa, south of UGANDA and north of MOZAMBIQUE. Its capital is Dar es Salaam. It was formed in 1964 by a merger of the countries of TANGANYIKA and ZANZIBAR.

Studies used to test etiologic hypotheses in which inferences about an exposure to putative causal factors are derived from data relating to characteristics of persons under study or to events or experiences in their past. The essential feature is that some of the persons under study have the disease or outcome of interest and their characteristics are compared with those of unaffected persons.

The geographical designation for the countries of the MIDDLE EAST and the countries BANGLADESH; BHUTAN; INDIA; NEPAL; PAKISTAN; and SRI LANKA. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed, 1993 & Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988)

Divisions of the year according to some regularly recurrent phenomena usually astronomical or climatic. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed)

A geographic area of east and southeast Asia encompassing CHINA; HONG KONG; JAPAN; KOREA; MACAO; MONGOLIA; and TAIWAN.

A republic in eastern Africa, south of SUDAN and west of KENYA. Its capital is Kampala.

An approach of practicing medicine with the goal to improve and evaluate patient care. It requires the judicious integration of best research evidence with the patient's values to make decisions about medical care. This method is to help physicians make proper diagnosis, devise best testing plan, choose best treatment and methods of disease prevention, as well as develop guidelines for large groups of patients with the same disease. (from JAMA 296 (9), 2006)

An independent state in eastern Africa. Ethiopia is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered on the north and northeast by Eritrea, on the east by Djibouti and Somalia, on the south by Kenya, and on the west and southwest by Sudan. Its capital is Addis Ababa.

Studies designed to assess the efficacy of programs. They may include the evaluation of cost-effectiveness, the extent to which objectives are met, or impact.

Health services required by a population or community as well as the health services that the population or community is able and willing to pay for.

Evaluation undertaken to assess the results or consequences of management and procedures used in combating disease in order to determine the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, and practicability of these interventions in individual cases or series.

Time period from 2001 through 2100 of the common era.

Educational attainment or level of education of individuals.

Country located in EUROPE. It is bordered by the NORTH SEA, BELGIUM, and GERMANY. Constituent areas are Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten, formerly included in the NETHERLANDS ANTILLES.

The actual costs of providing services related to the delivery of health care, including the costs of procedures, therapies, and medications. It is differentiated from HEALTH EXPENDITURES, which refers to the amount of money paid for the services, and from fees, which refers to the amount charged, regardless of cost.

A stratum of people with similar position and prestige; includes social stratification. Social class is measured by criteria such as education, occupation, and income.

Knowledge, attitudes, and associated behaviors which pertain to health-related topics such as PATHOLOGIC PROCESSES or diseases, their prevention, and treatment. This term refers to non-health workers and health workers (HEALTH PERSONNEL).

An interactive process whereby members of a community are concerned for the equality and rights of all.

People who frequently change their place of residence.

A highly contagious infectious disease caused by MORBILLIVIRUS, common among children but also seen in the nonimmune of any age, in which the virus enters the respiratory tract via droplet nuclei and multiplies in the epithelial cells, spreading throughout the MONONUCLEAR PHAGOCYTE SYSTEM.

Travel to another country for the purpose of medical treatment.

The application of molecular biology to the answering of epidemiological questions. The examination of patterns of changes in DNA to implicate particular carcinogens and the use of molecular markers to predict which individuals are at highest risk for a disease are common examples.

A republic in eastern Africa, south of ETHIOPIA, west of SOMALIA with TANZANIA to its south, and coastline on the Indian Ocean. Its capital is Nairobi.

Statistical measures of utilization and other aspects of the provision of health care services including hospitalization and ambulatory care.

The genetic constitution of the individual, comprising the ALLELES present at each GENETIC LOCUS.

A parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch in southeast Asia, consisting of 11 states (West Malaysia) on the Malay Peninsula and two states (East Malaysia) on the island of BORNEO. It is also called the Federation of Malaysia. Its capital is Kuala Lumpur. Before 1963 it was the Union of Malaya. It reorganized in 1948 as the Federation of Malaya, becoming independent from British Malaya in 1957 and becoming Malaysia in 1963 as a federation of Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore (which seceded in 1965). The form Malay- probably derives from the Tamil malay, mountain, with reference to its geography. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p715 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p329)

The process of formulating, improving, and expanding educational, managerial, or service-oriented work plans (excluding computer program development).

The integration of epidemiologic, sociological, economic, and other analytic sciences in the study of health services. Health services research is usually concerned with relationships between need, demand, supply, use, and outcome of health services. The aim of the research is evaluation, particularly in terms of structure, process, output, and outcome. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)

A country in northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea north of Sudan, and includes the Asian Sinai Peninsula Its capital is Cairo.

A systematic statement of policy rules or principles. Guidelines may be developed by government agencies at any level, institutions, professional societies, governing boards, or by convening expert panels. The text may be cursive or in outline form but is generally a comprehensive guide to problems and approaches in any field of activity. For guidelines in the field of health care and clinical medicine, PRACTICE GUIDELINES AS TOPIC is available.

The qualitative or quantitative estimation of the likelihood of adverse effects that may result from exposure to specified health hazards or from the absence of beneficial influences. (Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 1988)

Federal, state, or local government organized methods of financial assistance.

Planning for needed health and/or welfare services and facilities.

Persons fleeing to a place of safety, especially those who flee to a foreign country or power to escape danger or persecution in their own country or habitual residence because of race, religion, or political belief. (Webster, 3d ed)

Administration of vaccines to stimulate the host's immune response. This includes any preparation intended for active immunological prophylaxis.

Observation of a population for a sufficient number of persons over a sufficient number of years to generate incidence or mortality rates subsequent to the selection of the study group.

A republic in southern Africa east of ZAMBIA and MOZAMBIQUE. Its capital is Lilongwe. It was formerly called Nyasaland.

Absolute, comparative, or differential costs pertaining to services, institutions, resources, etc., or the analysis and study of these costs.

Sudden outbreaks of a disease in a country or region not previously recognized in that area, or a rapid increase in the number of new cases of a previous existing endemic disease. Epidemics can also refer to outbreaks of disease in animal or plant populations.

The relationships of groups of organisms as reflected by their genetic makeup.

The process whereby a society changes from a rural to an urban way of life. It refers also to the gradual increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas.

Encouraging consumer behaviors most likely to optimize health potentials (physical and psychosocial) through health information, preventive programs, and access to medical care.

Monitoring of rate of occurrence of specific conditions to assess the stability or change in health levels of a population. It is also the study of disease rates in a specific cohort such as in a geographic area or population subgroup to estimate trends in a larger population. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)

Organized periodic procedures performed on large groups of people for the purpose of detecting disease.

That segment of commercial enterprise devoted to the design, development, and manufacture of chemical products for use in the diagnosis and treatment of disease, disability, or other dysfunction, or to improve function.

Australia, New Zealand and neighboring islands in the South Pacific Ocean. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed.)

A republic in the Greater Antilles in the West Indies. Its capital is Port-au-Prince. With the Dominican Republic it forms the island of Hispaniola - Haiti occupying the western third and the Dominican Republic, the eastern two thirds. Haiti belonged to France from 1697 until its rule was challenged by slave insurrections from 1791. It became a republic in 1820. It was virtually an American protectorate from 1915 to 1934. It adopted its present constitution in 1964 and amended it in 1971. The name may represent either of two Caribbean words, haiti, mountain land, or jhaiti, nest. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p481 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p225)

A republic in western Africa, north of NIGERIA and west of CHAD. Its capital is Niamey.

The status of health in rural populations.

A country located in north Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, with a southern border with Western Sahara, eastern border with Algeria. The capital is Rabat.

A republic in southern Africa, southwest of DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO and west of ZAMBIA. Its capital is Luanda.

Organized services to provide health care to expectant and nursing mothers.

Administration and functional structures for the purpose of collectively systematizing activities for a particular goal.