Global health issues

-These wide-reaching problems in health

Threats to Global Health

-The need for GHIs stems from various health issues that have plagued the world

2019

-World Health organization (WHO) believes that these 10 threats to global health.

1. Air Pollution

   • Ultimate environmental risk affecting respiratory and circulatory systems, damaging lungs, heart, and brain.

2. Non-communicable Diseases

   • Diabetes, cancer, and heart disease causing over 70% of global deaths; 15 million premature deaths between ages 30 and 69.

3. Global Influenza Pandemic

   • Necessitates a well-established global health emergency preparedness and response system.

4. Fragile and Vulnerable Settings

   • Over 22% of the global population living in areas with prolonged crises, lacking adequate health services due to drought, famine, conflict, and displacement.

5. Antimicrobial Resistance

   • Ability of microorganisms to resist modern medicines, affecting treatments for infections like malaria, pneumonia, tuberculosis, gonorrhea, and salmonellosis.

6. Ebola and Other High-threat Pathogens

   • Demands preparedness during disease outbreaks, pandemics, and other health emergencies.

7. Weak Primary Health Care

   • Lack of adequate primary healthcare facilities, crucial for the initial treatment of illnesses.

8. Vaccine Hesitancy

   • Hinders disease prevention, contributing to millions of preventable deaths yearly.

9. Dengue

   • Affects nearly 40% of the global population, causing around 390 million infections annually; WHO aims to halve deaths by 2029 through control strategies.

10. HIV/AIDS

    • Epidemic causing almost one million deaths yearly; around 37 million people living with HIV globally, with 35 million deaths.

Global Health Initiatives:

1. Gavi the Vaccine Alliance

   • Founded in 2000 to promote vaccine use among children in the poorest areas, now known as Gavi.

2. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria

   • Aims to gather additional funds to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria outbreaks.

3. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)

   • Addresses the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, especially in Africa, to save lives of those living with HIV.