Public health priorities of South Asia: An overview

The challenges faced by the South Asian region are many in the domain of healthcare. Even though the health outcomes have improved in South Asia in the past decade, the distribution of these gains has been unequal. The aim of this review paper was to identify the public health priorities for South Asia using secondary databases. Literature search on electronic databases such as PubMed, MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, GoogleScholar was carried to obtain data addressing public health issues of South Asia. The literature search indicated, the dual burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases, environmental health, social determinants of health and strengthening of existing health systems as a public health priority for South Asia. The South Asian region is confronted with a formidable challenge to address its public health problems that are far greater than rest of the world. Provision of universal health care should be the priority for the countries in this region. This paper throws light on the myriad of the challenges faced by the South Asian region at present. It provides an insight in to the major public health priorities to improve healthcare services in the region. Public health professionals can utilize this information to further their research activities in the priority areas of the region.