Unit 3: Health Trends, Issues, and c.

Know rights, responsibilities and civic obligations

Concerns (Global level) d. Seek employment and sustain personal and family
needs
Global Health and the Millennium Development Goals e. Have decreased risk of getting sexually transmitted
infections like HIV/AIDS
The term “global health” rose in popularity along with the f. Support and protection of developing and
rise of globalization. Both terms improved public vulnerable countries during crises
awareness of vulnerabilities and shared responsibilities
among people for the different injustices in the world. 3. Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
Ilona Kickbush (2006), director of the Global Health Gender equality means equal representation of
Program at the Graduate Institute of International and men and women. It implies that all gender should have
Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland states that equal value and treatment. Equal gender treatment
global health pertains to various health issues, concerns, empowers women and other groups creating
and trends which go beyond national boundaries and call opportunities in education, work, finances, and other
for global initiatives for the protection and promotion of aspects which improves the economy and lessen effects
peoples’ health across the world. Koplan and Associates of financial crises. Gender equality can be achieved
(2009) states that global health is an area for study, through:
research and practice that prioritizes health improvement a. Early childhood development intervention
and achieving impartiality in healthcare and wellness b. Promotion of women’s political rights and
worldwide. Beaglehole and Bonita (2010) gave a short involvement
but meaningful definition of global health: cooperative c. Improved reproductive health programs and policies
research and action of international communities to d. Education and integrating gender equality in school
promote health for all. curriculum
e. Improved women’s access to work and
8 Millennium Development Goals strengthened labor policies for women
The United Nations Millennium Development Goals are f. Support and protection of developing and
eight targets that all 191 UN Member States have agreed vulnerable countries during crises
to achieve by 2015. The United Nations Millennium
Declaration, signed in September 2000 commits world 4. Reduce Child Mortality
leaders to fight discrimination against women and Programs and policies which help reduce child
children, disease, hunger, poverty, illiteracy, and mortality like improving nutritional intake, healthcare
environmental degradation. All of these goals cannot be facilities and infrastructure, and other fields which
attained without addressing each and everyone. All of improve children’s lives. Strengthening local and national
them influence, affect and depend on better global health health programs and policies is one way to reduce child
programs and policies. mortality. This includes:
a. Immunization programs
Millennium Development Goals b. Assuring the survival and better health of mothers
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger c. Improving reproductive health programs and
Developing countries particularly in Africa and policies
Asia suffer from extreme poverty and hunger. Poverty d. Better nutrition program for infants, children and
and hunger leads to severe malnutrition which leads to mothers
lifelong physical and cognitive (learning and reasoning)
damage and affects health, well-being and the economy. 5. Improved Maternal Health
Some key suggestions to eradicate poverty and hunger Improved maternal health is not only about
are: mother’s health but also involves the health and wellness
a. Education b. Promoting gender equality of the family. Maternal health also helps eradicate other
c. Producing more jobs problems like poverty, gender inequality, decreased
d. Investing more in agriculture workforce, lower birth deaths, and disability of women.
e. Strengthened nutrition programs for children Some ways to improve maternal health include:
and infants a. Improved and proper nutrition of mothers
f. Support and protection of developing and b. Teaching the benefits of birth spacing and
vulnerable countries during crises small family size
c. Educating young boys and girls about the
2. Achieve Universal Primary Education importance of maternal health
Persons, particularly women who are educated, d. Better and improved access to hospital care
are more likely to seek medical care especially during especially obstetric-gynecology, prenatal and postnatal
pregnancy, ensuring proper nutrition for their family, care
adopting healthy sanitary practices and ensuring
immunization of children. As an effect, infants and 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases
children have better survival rates, are healthier and Emerging and re-emerging diseases like HIV/AIDS,
better nourished. If these are attained, children who malaria, influenza and other diseases affect productivity
receive primary education are more likely to: and growth of nations. Some of the effects of disease
a. Marry and have their own families at a later stage in outbreak are loss of jobs, shortage in professional
life workers, and creating social crises. Children are the most
b. Practice family planning and have fewer children vulnerable and are exposed to exploitation and abuse
undermining their normal growth and development. 2. To empower service providers by imparting
Some ways to combat diseases include effective adequate knowledge, skill and capacity which enable
prevention, treatment and care like: them to respond to malaria illness appropriately;
a. Improved housing conditions 3. To create an enabling environment for
b. Increased access to anti-malarial medicines implementation.
c. Promoting safer sex behavior and preventive 2. Stop TB
education for all Stop TB is a global effort to prevent further
d. Promoting Tuberculosis (TB) screening of HIV/AIDS transmission of tuberculosis or TB around the world. One
persons and of the programs for Stop TB is the implementation of the
e. TB - Directly Observed Treatment Short (TB-DOTS) TB-DOTS short-course strategy.
Course therapy
f. Promoting the use of insecticide-treated nets to fight Objectives
mosquito-borne diseases 1. To achieve universal access to high-quality
diagnosis and patient-centered treatment
7. Ensure Environmental Sustainability 2. To reduce the suffering and socio-economic
Investing and supporting sustainable energy like burden associated with TB
solar, wind and water energy help support jobs, create 3. To protect poor and vulnerable populations
business opportunities, and save remaining non- from TB, TB/HIV and multi drug-resistant – TB (MDR-TB)
renewable energy sources. Environmental sustainability 4. To support development of new tools and
assures peoples to live healthier and enjoy a clean and enable their timely and effective use.
green environment. Some of the benefits of a sustainable 3. Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization
environment are: The Global Alliance for Vaccines and
a. Cleaner air and environment Immunization is a global strategy which aims to
b. Clean, environment-friendly, and renewable energy strengthen children’s immunization programs and
c. New and aspiring jobs and business in energy introduce new generation of licensed vaccines into use in
d. Increased access to sanitation developing countries across the globe. These new
vaccines which could help reduce the number of deaths
8. Global Partnership for Development in children aged 5 years old and below includes: Hepatitis
The United Nations, World Health Organization, B vaccine, Childhood meningitis vaccine , Yellow fever
World Bank and governments work together to make vaccine, Influenza vaccine
sure there is fair trade and that heavily indebted Vaccine for pneumonia
countries obtain relief and funds to combat poverty, 4. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria.
malnutrition and funds for education and social projects. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria
Some benefits of global partnership are: is a funding project rather than an initiative. Nevertheless
a. Expanded international trade agreements it helps in the prevention, reduction, and mitigation of
b. Improved access to affordable medicine the negative impacts of the three diseases to humanity
c. Reduced poverty through government debt which contributes to the fulfillment of the Millennium
relief grant Development Goals.
d. Developed information and communication
technology (ICT) infrastructure Global Prevention and Control of Tobacco and Alcohol
Use (WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control)
Global Health Initiatives The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco
One of the benefits of globalization to the world Control (WHO FCTC) is the prime international treaty
is the development and improvement of various health negotiated under WHO. The WHO FCTC came into
initiatives initiated by different nations and governments existence in reaction to the global epidemic of tobacco
to address health issues and concerns. Global health use and abuse. It reaffirms the right of every individual
initiatives are programs set in motion by the United across the world to the highest standard of health
Nations through the World Health Organization and in promoting public health and providing new legal means
partnership with the World Bank which targets specific for global health cooperation.
health problems including but not limited to emerging The following summarizes the WHO FCTC provisions:
and re-emerging diseases, climate change, environmental 1. Price and tax measures to reduce the demand for
sanitation, mental health, tobacco regulation, and alcohol tobacco, and
use. 2. Non-price measures to reduce the demand for
The Global Fight against Communicable Diseases Roll tobacco, namely:
3. Protection from exposure to tobacco smoke;
1. Roll Back Malaria 4. Regulation of the contents of tobacco products;
Roll Back Malaria is a global effort to reduce the 5. Regulation of tobacco product disclosures;
number of deaths from malaria infection through 6. New packaging and labeling of tobacco products;
heightened prevention tools, rapid response to 7. Education, communication, training and public
outbreaks, development of new anti-malarial products, awareness;
and effective treatment of the infection. 8. Demand reduction measures concerning tobacco
Specific objective: dependence and cessation; and
1. To enable and to increase the capacity of 9. Tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.
caregivers to recognize malaria promptly and take early
appropriate action; Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol.
 The Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of
Alcohol recognizes the close ties between the harmful
use of alcohol and the socio-economic development of a
nation. Likewise, this strategy builds and supports other
global health initiatives like the global strategy for the
prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.

Global Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Non-

communicable Diseases.
The Global Strategy for the Prevention and
Control of Non-communicable Diseases is a global action
plan to prevent and control the following non-
communicable diseases: cardiovascular diseases, chronic
respiratory diseases, cancers, and diabetes and the four
shared risk factors: unhealthy eating, physical inactivity,
tobacco use and alcohol use.
Objectives of the Action Plan:
1. To raise the priority accorded to non-
communicable disease at global and national levels and
to integrate prevention and control of such diseases into
policies across all governments
2. To establish and strengthen national policies
and plans for the prevention and control of non-
communicable diseases
3. To promote interventions to reduce the main
shared but preventable risk factors for non-
communicable diseases: unhealthy eating, physical
inactivity, tobacco use, and harmful use of alcohol
4. To promote research for the prevention and
control of non-communicable diseases
5. To promote partnerships for the prevention
and control of non -communicable diseases
6. To monitor non-communicable diseases and
their causal factors and evaluate progress at the local,
nationa,l and global levels.

Global Initiative for Mental Health

• Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan
2013-2020 The “Comprehensive Mental Health Action
Plan 2013-2020” is the result of extensive research and
consultations by stakeholders, membernations, academic
and non-government centers across the globe. The
mental health action plan should be impartial, life-based,
and preventive in nature. It basically addresses the
following:
• To fight and alleviate negative trends in mental
health,
• To improve and make mental health services
and care accessible, and
• To prevent abuse of rights and unjust treatment
against people with mental problems, disorders, and
disabilities which are still prevalent around the world.