William Easterly posts a realistic evaluation of the consequences of the "rigth to health" advocacy, both on his blog Aid Watch, and in the Financial Times (October 12). He claims that a constant volume of funds is reoriented towards politically supported health care programs, such as those concerning the treatment for AIDS, and helps mostly that part of the population that is politically influential, and away from the other big killers of the poor -- such as pneumonia, measles and diarrhoeal diseases, which together accounted for 5 million deaths in 2008.
Altruistic intentions, given a limited amount of generosity, thus result in more inequality, not less.
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