In a recent Foreign Affairs article, Laurie Garrett argues that the current economic crisis represents "a watershed moment for global public health" because of the probable stagnation of development assistance for health. In fact, the situation is even more serious than Garrett's analysis would indicate, because of the interaction of multiple crises in which the stakes for social determinants of health are even higher.

Fanning herself in the midday heat, Mary Trifonopoulou sits patiently in the jobcentre and waits. It is not her first time here, and it will almost certainly not be her last. A qualified nurse with a big smile and cheerful demeanour, the 30-year-old lost her job in a children's hospital in October and has been looking for work ever since.