The World Health Report 2000 is an expert analysis of the increasingly important influence of health systems in the daily lives of people worldwide. To an unprecedented degree it takes account of the role of people as providers and consumers of health services, as financial contributors to health systems, as workers within them, and as citizens engaged in their responsible management, or stewardship. Health systems provide the critical interface between life-saving, life-enhancing interventions and the people who need them. If health systems are weak, the power of these interventions is...