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Getting involved in Global Health Dr Rhona MacDonald The Lancet. Setting the scene. 35 000 people die from preventable,poverty related infectious diseases EVERY DAY Global burden of chronic disease Conflict, arms and trauma ‘ Natural ’ Disasters. Standards and targets. Remember?
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Getting involved in Global Health Dr Rhona MacDonald The Lancet
Setting the scene • 35 000 people die from preventable,poverty related infectious diseases EVERY DAY • Global burden of chronic disease • Conflict, arms and trauma • ‘Natural’ Disasters
Standards and targets Remember? • Health for all by the year 2000 • WHO’s 3 by 5 campaign? Current targets • Millennium Development Goals • Outcomes from Gleneagles > ALL ABOUT HEALTH!
Millennium Development Goals 1-3 • Eradicate extreme povertyand hunger: reduce by half the number of people living on lessthan $1 (60p) a day and those who suffer from hunger • Achieveuniversal primary education • Promote equality between the sexesand empower women: end gender disparity at all levels by 2015
Millennium Development Goals 4-6 the Direct Health Ones • Reducechild mortality by two thirds for children aged under 5 years • Improvematernal health: reducing by three quarters the maternal mortalityratio • Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases: halt andbegin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and otherdiseases
Millennium Development Goals 7 Ensure environmental sustainability, including integratingenvironmental sustainability into developing country policiesand programmes; reversing the loss of environmental resources;reducing by half the people without access to clean drinkingwater
Millennium Development Goals 8 Develop a global partnership for development, includingan open trading and financial system that is rule based andincludes a commitment to good governance, development and povertyreduction; enhanced debt relief and cancellation of bilateraldebt; more generous development assistance for countries committedto poverty reduction; working with pharmaceutical companiesto provide access to affordable essential drugs in developingcountries
Outcome of G8 2005- Gleneagles The G8 agreed a comprehensive plan to support Africa’s progress including: • to boost investment in health and education, and to take action to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB and other killer diseases • provide as close as possible universal access to treatment for AIDS by 2010
The Reality- way off track • Many barriers to accessing health care • Many barriers to accessing medicines • ‘Brain Drain’
Wider context Governments in poor countries trapped: • economic deficits re unfair trade rules • ‘conditionalities’ of economic growth imposed by global institutions • Bureaucracy and complexity • Unable to meet their own targets of spending 15% of GDP on health care • Aid, Trade, Debt really matters
Access to healthcare User fees: • Create and exacerbate poverty • Act as a deterrent to accessing healthcare for those who really need it • Cause people to seek help from alternative, often inappropriate healthcare providers
Access to Essential Medicines • TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property) impositions • Lack of Research and Development in diagnostic tests, medicines and immunisations for neglected and most neglected diseases
‘Brain Drain’ Global market for providing healthcare: • Exodus of healthcare professionals from poor countries to rich ones • Balance the rights of the individual to want a better life and the right to health of the patients they leave without a healthcare professional to care for them
Global Health and YOU Why get involved? • Because you can-Your training, skills, interests and opportunities to travel, put YOU in a unique position to be interested and involved in global health issues • High impact- People will listen to you - YOU are a highly respected and influential member of society
Global Health and YOU cont/d Because you should? • Caring healthcare professional who wants only the best for your patients • Does it matter that they are in a different country? Does that mean that you should not care for them and want to do something about their unjust situation
What can YOU do (Get off your backside) • Get and Stay Informed and Inform Others • Get active: Campaign, Lobby, Advocate • Get linked: Link with Institutions in Poorer Countries • Give • Go
Stay informed and inform others So many sources of information (sometimes too much information!) In most, you can sign up to e newsletters in your topic of interest • Medsin /SSM? • WHO / DFID • Most international charity websites • Medical Journals (The Lancet)
Campaign, Lobby, Advocate • Use this knowledge to campaign and lobby organisations, governments,and individual political leaders. • Many organisations and charities run their own campaigns and advocacy schemes. You could individually and /or collectivelyjoin up and do their activities
Link The Department of Health and THET International have teamed up to encourage UK hospitals to link with institutions in developing countries > Nag your consultants/ Trust etc to get involved
Give • Many charities and organisations are workingto reduce global poverty and improve global health • Restricted and unrestricted funding • Can you give regularly now or in the future? • Make sure that you are satisfied with the charity administration
Go • Elective In the future? • Many organisations to choose from • Or you might want to go it alone by organising it yourself > Will the new structure of Doctors training make this more difficult?
Don’t just sit there… • There is a massive need • Millions of patients throughout the world are being treated very unfairly • You can do something about it • As a healthcare professional, you SHOULD do something about it >So, what are you going to do?