Jamaica: a case study in health development.
Jamaica is a sub-tropical country with a population of 2.2 million, ethnically and culturally related to West Africa. Its level of health in 1920 was similar to that of the poorest sub-Saharan countries today, but improved steadily during the period to 1980 and is now not far from that of many developed countries. The factors responsible for health development include basic public health measures, improved medical technology and increasing incomes, literacy and public awareness of health matters, the balance between them varying over time; the emergence of a sense of national commitment on the part of health professionals is also important. While the Jamaican case demonstrates the feasibility of health development as the basis of modest national resources it is emphasised that each country is likely to find its own path to better health. International data are used to show the wide variations between developing countries in their present access to health resources.