Creating Guidelines for Poor and Rich Countries—What is Indispensable?

Guidelines have continuously increased in importance and number worldwide over the last three decades. Developed for mostly medical decision-making in specific clinical situations, they have now gained both clinical and health policy significance. In the German-speaking area, these guidelines inform disease management programs as well as the certification process for breast centers (Nothacker et al. 2014). In the global setting, the guidelines provide a basis for economically realistic and sustainable planning for the infrastructures, medications, consumables, and personnel required for the respective disease spectrum. This chapter explains the concept of the guideline and the process of its development. A synopsis of three guidelines on the topic of “Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy” from the German-speaking area, from Central African Cameroon, and from the WHO illustrates the global aspect.