With research funding from the Initiative for Cardiovascular Health Research in the Developing Countries (IC-Health), Stephen Leeder has continued to work on the economic consequences of cardiovascular disease and the translation of these economic insights into effective preventive and control strategies through the recruitment of industry, labour and treasury and finance ministers from developing countries. This work builds on a report written by Stephen Leeder and colleagues on the challenge of cardiovascular disease in developing economies, A Race Against Time.

A study of the microeconomic consequences in families of people admitted to hospital in the previous two years for heart disease being conducted in centres in China, India, Argentina and Tanzania is in the final write-up stage. This study has been coordinated from Delhi and Stephen Leeder has chaired the overseeing committee. It complements his work in 2003-4 examining the macroeconomic effects of CVD. Several key publications are currently being prepared and insights from this study may lead to a revision of policy for financing health care and social support for people with CVD in developing countries. The University of Sydney hosted a visitor from the Indian centre of the study, Dr Harikrishnan, for two weeks in June. Dr Harikrishnan is working on a revision of the monograph A Race Against Time, first published in 2004.