Chapter 15

1. Chapter 15 Global Health Issues

2. Global Health Matters • Health conditions have improved more in the past fifty years than in all of history • The average life expectancy has risen steadily due to the advancement in health/medical discoveries • Death rates, especially among children, have decreased dramatically • Many health issues focus now on the inequities in terms of global health care

3. The Looming Health Threat • Many developing countries have not introduced public health care • There are increases in infectious threats such as HIV/Aids • All of these new diseases act as constraints on economic and social development

4. Resistance To Antibiotics • Bacteria have now evolved to become more lethal and resistant to antibiotics • Doctors and researchers are left unable to cope against these new diseases • Medical research has had to become more advanced more quickly to keep up with these diseases, in which bacteria are prevailing over

5. Patterns And Trends • Statistics do not reveal the reality of how a disease impacts the quality of life • Especially in developing countries, disease means loss of people, equalling to loss of work potential • Economy tends to suffer The Double Burden • People are living much longer due to the major improvements in health care • However, most developing countries are left experiencing an epidemiologic transition, which is when a disease shifts from one type to another

6. More Than Just Another Statistic • The United Nations and NGOs base all of their estimations on studies and observations • Every human being is part of these “statistics” and has the same needs and deserves the same rights and privileges health care wise The Sanitary Revolution • Governments/organizations have been working to improve the working/living conditions for people who work in poor areas • Factors such as clean drinking water, better housing, waste removal, etc. are important for people living and working in developing countries

7. Factors Affecting Disease • Poverty and Hunger • Poverty is the main factor that causes ill health • Developing countries have to limit their budgets health wise, and in doing so have undermined the potential for economic and social development • Malnutrition and disease from terrible nutrition also plays a large role • It is a fact that those with low income are more likely to suffer health-wise from the affects of being less-off

8. Factors Affecting Disease • Population Growth • Continued population growth, combined with urbanization, especially in the developing areas, usually results in unsanitary conditions and infectious diseases • The Water And Sewage Factor • Safe drinking water and proper waste and sewage disposal has the greatest impact on improving health • Poor management of these two main factors usually results in disease and death, especially in the developing countries

9. Social And Demographic Factors • Women and children who are restricted access to things such as education, information, freedom from physical violence, etc. usually have poor health and live in poverty • Cultural practices from religious and sexual beliefs have had many negative impacts on women and young children, which affects them both mentally and physically • The increase in the number of elderly people will also have an impact on health issues, especially in the near future

10. Globalization And Health • Recent government policy in many places had meant a decrease in the funding towards health care • The reduced access to proper health care means the declining quality of life, the increase in future death rates, etc. • However, globalization has allowed us, through technology, to share information that is health and medical based with other countries • The Pharmaceutical Industry • Without the industries and companies that supply us with medications, we may very well have an infectious disease • The only problem with having all of these available drugs is, that not everyone can afford them • Especially in developing countries, what company or pharmaceutical industry is going to send out free meds? None!

11. Health Revolution? • The health care service industry generates more the $200 billion US a year • A small percentage of these services actually goes towards the developing areas of the world • Most of the attention money and health wise goes to the more developed countries • No one is going to make money in developing countries where the medications and medical technology cannot be afforded

12. Meeting Global Health Challenges • Over the past 50 years, the limitations set for strictly studying the medical aspects of diseases has left out the need for proper sanitation and safe water in developing areas • The need for international support in terms of facing health care issues has never been in more high of demand • Drugs For Neglected Disease • Many groups have been organized to find ways to address the failure of the market to develop drugs needed to fight off infectious diseases • Inadequate policies by the governments of developing countries have compounded the most serious health issues • Many countries simply have a pharmaceutical industry that is only interested in making money, without helping the people who are less off

13. A Pot Of Gold? • The Un negotiated with governments and foundations, 2001, to contribute to a global fund that will be used to combat Aids, and other serious diseases, in developing and other countries. • The donations to this fund have been much lower than expected…does this tell you something? National Immunization Day • The Who, UNICEF and other organizations help to sponsor a week in which people all over the world, including those in developing countries, have the opportunity to be vaccinated for proper protection against diseases and illnesses

14. Solar Energy Initiatives • Proper store houses for medications and vaccinations needed to fight off infectious illnesses are important to medical research and development • All over the world, these storehouses help to keep the scarcity of medication low and help also to reduce the waste of medications • Health Care Initiatives • There are many ways in which infants and children are being provided health care in the developing countries • Some of these ways include growth monitoring therapy, breastfeeding, immunizations, and oral rehydration therapy

15. The End