CSE Global Theme Issue on Poverty and Human Development: Effects of Poverty on Child Health and Paediatric Practice in Nigeria: An Overview

in the world are greatly affected by environmental circumstances – including level of poverty, which is substantially affected not only by the amount and nature of resources available, but also by politics. The political content of medicine has long been recognized. The great 19th century German pathologist –Rudolf Virchow (1821 – 1902) once remarked that ``medicine is a social science and politics is nothing but medicine on a larger scale”. In recent years, Hendrickse (1991) explained that improved health care for children depends on political will, and it seems idle to expect significant and lasting improvement in child health in countries where unjust and unstable political institutions frustrate the development of agriculture, industry, housing, safe water supplies, education, communication and medical services that together, determine a country’s potential for health. Children are frequently the unrecognized victims of unjust political regimes, and it often takes courage as well as knowledge and ability to try to promote their heath and well-being.