Public health is on the move in South East Asia. A recent conference organised by the South East Asian Regional Office of the World Health Organisation (WHO), in conjunction with various local partners, examined critically the recent contribution of public health in the region, and concluded that it was time to establish a new impetus with a new sense of direction—very much in keeping with the New Public Health thinking that has had such a marked influence in recent years in other parts of the world.  The conference, which was held in Calcutta from the 22 to 24 November 1999, resulted in the adoption …