"There is an Axis of Evil," David Williams says, "an Axis of Evil of
inequality, of racism, of poverty, of economic deprivation that is adversely
affecting the health of the American people."

* * * * * * * * * *

The PBS television series that everyone is talking about continues this
week.

You can see it on regular TV, Channel 9, at 11 PM on Wednesday -- or you
can come to a continuation of the show for the UW community this week:

5:30 - 7:00 PM Tuesday April 22, 2008
K-Wing Auditorium (K-069)

Part 4: Bad Sugar: what explains the dramatic rise of diabetes in Pima
Indians?
Part 5: Place Matters: why and how does your street address predict
your health?

We will show the 4th and 5th segments of this series this week, to be
followed by a discussion period. Because of the hour, you will even get
refreshments!

Sponsored by the Northwest International Health Action Coalition (NIHAC),
Health Alliance International, the Global Health Resource Center, and the
Population Health Forum.


* * * * * * * * * *

Says Larry Adelman
Executive Producer:

Our international health status has fallen radically in the last few decades.
In 1980, we ranked 14th in life expectancy; by 2007, we had fallen to 29th. Our
infant mortality rate lags behind 30 other countries. And illness now costs
American business more than $1 trillion a year in lost productivity.

Healthy behaviors, molecular research, and of course, universal health care are
all important. But evidence suggests they miss the most vital factor of all:
how the social circumstances in which we are born, live and work can get under
our skin and disrupt our biology as surely as germs and viruses.

We produced UNNATURAL CAUSES to draw attention to the root causes of health and
illness and to help reframe the debate about health in America. Economic and
racial inequality are not abstract concepts but hospitalize and kill even more
people than cigarettes. The wages and benefits we're paid, the neighborhoods we
live in, the schools we attend, our access to resources and even our tax
policies are health issues every bit as critical as diet, smoking and exercise.

The unequal distribution of these social conditions - and their health
consequences - are not natural or inevitable. They are the result of choices
that we as a community, as states, and as a nation have made, and can make
differently. Other nations already have, and they live longer, healthier lives
as a result.

We hope that UNNATURAL CAUSES and its companion tools will help you work
towards better health by bringing into view how economic justice, racial
equality and caring communities may be the best medicines of all.