CHAPTER CONTENT

THE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL CONTEXT
Life Expectancy
Economic Growth and Inequality
Trends in Social Spending
Subregional and Regional Integration
Charting New Paths through Summits—Regional Political Cooperation

THE SOCIAL CONTEXT
Poverty and Indigence
Hunger and Undernutrition
Unemployment
Access to Education
Inequities in Health Conditions
Gender, Ethnic, and Racial Inequities
Causes ofInequity in Access to Essential Health Care Resources
Health and Equity in Gender, Ethnicity, and Race
Gender and Access to Health Care
Gender Equity and Health Care Financing

THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT
Urban Growth
Access to Potable Water, Water Pollution, and Waste Disposal
Air Pollution
Shrinking Forests and Land Degradation
Coastal Degradation and Ocean Pollution
Regional Variability and Climate Change

INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW
Legal Sources for the Right to Health in Latin America and the Caribbean
Initiatives in Bioethics