WHO on public health

Public health refers to all organized measures (whether public or private) to prevent disease, promote health, and prolong life among the population as a whole. Its activities aim to provide conditions in which people can be healthy and focus on entire populations, not on individual patients or diseases. Thus, public health is concerned with the total system and not only the eradication of a particular disease. The three main public health functions are:

The assessment and monitoring of the health of communities and populations at risk to identify health problems and priorities.

The formulation of public policies designed to solve identified local and national health problems and priorities.

To assure that all populations have access to appropriate and cost-effective care, including health promotion and disease prevention services.

Public health professionals monitor and diagnose the health concerns of entire communities and promote healthy practices and behaviours to ensure that populations stay healthy. One way to illustrate the breadth of public health is to look at some notable public health campaigns:

Vaccination and control of infectious diseases

Motor-vehicle safety

Safer workplaces

Safer and healthier foods

Safe drinking water

Healthier mothers and babies and access to family planning

Decline in deaths from coronary heart disease and stroke

Recognition of tobacco use as a health hazard.

The term global public health recognizes that, as a result of globalization, forces that affect public health can and do come from outside state boundaries and that responding to public health issues now requires attention to cross-border health risks, including access to dangerous products and environmental change.

Anti-Microbial Resistance

This happens when microbes develop ways to survive the use of medicines meant to kill or weaken them. The development of anti-microbial resistance is a natural biological phenomenon, but humans can and do increase the likelihood of it happening. This term is often used interchangeably with drug resistance.

Antibiotic use is of benefit to both humans and cattle. Resistance results from the misuse of antibiotics in both rich countries (where 75% of the use of antibiotics in humans and cattle is thought to be inappropriate) and poor countries (where the lack of controls, resources, and knowledge results in inappropriate and incorrect use). Recently, a number of treatment-resistant forms of malaria and TB have emerged.

It is argued that aspects of globalization increase the likelihood of treatment-resistant diseases emerging. For example, increased cross-border movements of people help to spread disease faster. Some analysts also blame a move towards the harmonization of treatment regimes, regardless of local conditions. On the other hand, globalization may also facilitate effective global cooperation to tackle this threat, e.g. WHO has developed a global strategy for the containment of anti-microbial resistance.

Emerging Diseases

Thirty previously unknown diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, Ebola, hepatitis C, Lyme disease, Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) have emerged in the past 20 years.

They remain incurable. These emerging diseases represent a significant cause of suffering and death, and impose an enormous financial burden on society. Studies show that pandemics of new strains of influenza and other emerging diseases are traveling faster and wider than ever before owing to global travel and trade.

Some “older” diseases have been effectively controlled with the help of modern technologies, such as antibiotics and vaccines; others, such as malaria, TB and bacterial pneumonia, are now re-emerging in forms resistant to drug treatments.

Globalization and Health

This is the effect of globalization on the health sector and health outcomes. It refers to the impact on health of growing international trade, improving global communications, increasing flows of goods, services and people, and other manifestations of globalization. These effects can be both direct and indirect.

Examples of direct effects include the impacts on health systems and policies of multilateral trade agreements, such as the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property rights (TRIPS) Agreement, which affect the cost and availability of medicines and drugs. Other examples include:

Improving communications technologies, which make it easier to alert the relevant authorities to the outbreak of a particular disease and, more broadly, to share information on health issues.

Growing trade, tourism and migration, which facilitate the spread of infectious disease and anti-microbial resistance. (Links between trade and the spread of disease date back to the 14th century, when the Black Death followed shipping routes. But the increasing speed and scale of travel, migration and trade create public health challenges and cross-border health risks of a new magnitude.)

Global environmental change and the illicit drugs trade, which are global phenomena outside the control of any one government and have an impact on health.

Indirect examples of the impact of globalization on health include those that operate through the national economy, such as the effect of trade liberalization and financial flows on the availability of resources for public expenditure on health.

 

Climate Change

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defines climate change as “change in climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural variability observed over comparable time periods”.

The links between climate change and public health include shifting patterns of disease. For example:

Diseases such as malaria could affect different countries or geographical areas as the climate warms.

Food shortages may increase, exacerbating malnutrition-related health problems, as drought-prone areas increase.

Deaths and health impacts from heatwaves, floods, and storms could rise as weather patterns become more unpredictable.

Global warming is caused by the build-up of greenhouse gases - primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide - in the atmosphere.

These gases trap heat and create a rise in global temperature. The last decade has been the warmest this century, indeed the warmest for hundreds of years, and many parts of the world have suffered major heatwaves, floods, droughts and other extreme weather events as a result.

Potential consequences of global warming include changes in rainfall and soil moisture levels, and rising sea levels. There could also be atmospheric changes and increasingly harsh sunshine levels, resulting in as many as 1.7 million cases of cataracts. In addition, some studies indicate that a global mean temperature increase of 1-2°C would enable malaria to extend its range to new geographical areas.

Cross-Border Health Risks

This term is used to describe risks to human health that cross national borders. Examples include risks from climate change and the illegal drugs trade, as well as cross-border movements of people, which can lead to the spread of communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB and influenza. Since 1990, global trade has grown six-fold and the number of people traveling by air has increased 17-fold.

Today, more than 2 million people cross borders each day and travel times are shorter than the incubation periods of many diseases. Increasingly, a country's foreign policy may be linked to cross-border health risks.

 

 

WHO on public health

Public health refers to all organized measures (whether public or private) to prevent disease, promote health, and prolong life among the population as a whole. Its activities aim to provide conditions in which people can be healthy and focus on entire populations, not on individual patients or diseases. Thus, public health is concerned with the total system and not only the eradication of a particular disease. The three main public health functions are: The assessment and monitoring of the health of communities and populations at risk to identify health problems and priorities. The formulation of public policies designed to solve identified local and national health problems and priorities. To assure that all populations have access to appropriate and cost-effective care, including health promotion and disease prevention services. Public health professionals monitor and diagnose the health concerns of entire communities and promote healthy practices and behaviours to ensure that populations stay healthy. One way to illustrate the breadth of public health is to look at some notable public health campaigns: Vaccination and control of infectious diseases Motor-vehicle safety Safer workplaces Safer and healthier foods Safe drinking water Healthier mothers and babies and access to family planning Decline in deaths from coronary heart disease and stroke Recognition of tobacco use as a health hazard. The term global public health recognizes that, as a result of globalization, forces that affect public health can and do come from outside state boundaries and that responding to public health issues now requires attention to cross-border health risks, including access to dangerous products and environmental change. Anti-Microbial Resistance This happens when microbes develop ways to survive the use of medicines meant to kill or weaken them. The development of anti-microbial resistance is a natural biological phenomenon, but humans can and do increase the likelihood of it happening. This term is often used interchangeably with drug resistance. Antibiotic use is of benefit to both humans and cattle. Resistance results from the misuse of antibiotics in both rich countries (where 75% of the use of antibiotics in humans and cattle is thought to be inappropriate) and poor countries (where the lack of controls, resources, and knowledge results in inappropriate and incorrect use). Recently, a number of treatment-resistant forms of malaria and TB have emerged. It is argued that aspects of globalization increase the likelihood of treatment-resistant diseases emerging. For example, increased cross-border movements of people help to spread disease faster. Some analysts also blame a move towards the harmonization of treatment regimes, regardless of local conditions. On the other hand, globalization may also facilitate effective global cooperation to tackle this threat, e.g. WHO has developed a global strategy for the containment of anti-microbial resistance. Emerging Diseases Thirty previously unknown diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, Ebola, hepatitis C, Lyme disease, Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) have emerged in the past 20 years. They remain incurable. These emerging diseases represent a significant cause of suffering and death, and impose an enormous financial burden on society. Studies show that pandemics of new strains of influenza and other emerging diseases are traveling faster and wider than ever before owing to global travel and trade. Some older diseases have been effectively controlled with the help of modern technologies, such as antibiotics and vaccines; others, such as malaria, TB and bacterial pneumonia, are now re-emerging in forms resistant to drug treatments. Globalization and Health This is the effect of globalization on the health sector and health outcomes. It refers to the impact on health of growing international trade, improving global communications, increasing flows of goods, services and people, and other manifestations of globalization. These effects can be both direct and indirect. Examples of direct effects include the impacts on health systems and policies of multilateral trade agreements, such as the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property rights (TRIPS) Agreement, which affect the cost and availability of medicines and drugs. Other examples include: Improving communications technologies, which make it easier to alert the relevant authorities to the outbreak of a particular disease and, more broadly, to share information on health issues. Growing trade, tourism and migration, which facilitate the spread of infectious disease and anti-microbial resistance. (Links between trade and the spread of disease date back to the 14th century, when the Black Death followed shipping routes. But the increasing speed and scale of travel, migration and trade create public health challenges and cross-border health risks of a new magnitude.) Global environmental change and the illicit drugs trade, which are global phenomena outside the control of any one government and have an impact on health. Indirect examples of the impact of globalization on health include those that operate through the national economy, such as the effect of trade liberalization and financial flows on the availability of resources for public expenditure on health. Climate Change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defines climate change as change in climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural variability observed over comparable time periods. The links between climate change and public health include shifting patterns of disease. For example: Diseases such as malaria could affect different countries or geographical areas as the climate warms. Food shortages may increase, exacerbating malnutrition-related health problems, as drought-prone areas increase. Deaths and health impacts from heatwaves, floods, and storms could rise as weather patterns become more unpredictable. Global warming is caused by the build-up of greenhouse gases - primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide - in the atmosphere. These gases trap heat and create a rise in global temperature. The last decade has been the warmest this century, indeed the warmest for hundreds of years, and many parts of the world have suffered major heatwaves, floods, droughts and other extreme weather events as a result. Potential consequences of global warming include changes in rainfall and soil moisture levels, and rising sea levels. There could also be atmospheric changes and increasingly harsh sunshine levels, resulting in as many as 1.7 million cases of cataracts. In addition, some studies indicate that a global mean temperature increase of 1-2C would enable malaria to extend its range to new geographical areas. Cross-Border Health Risks This term is used to describe risks to human health that cross national borders. Examples include risks from climate change and the illegal drugs trade, as well as cross-border movements of people, which can lead to the spread of communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB and influenza. Since 1990, global trade has grown six-fold and the number of people traveling by air has increased 17-fold. Today, more than 2 million people cross borders each day and travel times are shorter than the incubation periods of many diseases. Increasingly, a countrys foreign policy may be linked to cross-border health risks.