On 8 May 2007, a report by the international department of the BMA entitled Improving health for the world's poor: what can health professionals do? was launched at the House of Commons.1 It is the product of a four year collaboration between the BMA and the Department for International Development. The report comes hot on the heels of Lord Crisp's report Global Health Partnerships: the UK contribution to health in developing countries,2 endorsed by the prime minister and the secretaries of state for health and international development in February. It makes some aspirational statements, but health professionals looking for practical advice on how to offer their services to poor people in developing countries may be disappointed.

The report's eight chapters cover health systems, water and sanitation, climate change, fair and ethical trade within the health system, malnutrition, tobacco control, public-private partnerships, and the World Health …