My opinion

---

Many health issues worldwide currently threaten large segments of the world’s population. One particular issue which has continued to harm billions but which has unfortunately had limited success in reducing the harm is Global Health. Global health is an all encompassing topic that deals with problems that affect all, regardless of social status, wealth or geography. Everyone is affected in their own way. It involves infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, access to health care and unjust inequalities of wealth and power. Prior to attending a Global Health and Global Health Ethics symposium as well as a United Nations conference on Non-communicable diseases, I was unaware of the magnitude of the situation. However attending the conferences have shed light on a few areas where more work is desperately required.
Infectious diseases are responsible for approximately 275 deaths for every 100,000 people  world-wide [1]. In 2004, when the estimated worldwide population was around 6.3 billion people, over 17.4 million deaths were attributable to infectious diseases [2]. There is international awareness of the magnitude of these deaths and various societies have invested great amounts of time and money into research for better prevention and treatment options for the many different infectious diseases. “The assumption is that knowledge leads to power and control over a disease” [3]. However, that assumption is not necessarily true. If the example of tuberculosis is taken, knowledge of this disease’s existence has been available since the ancient Egyptian era. For hundreds of years countries worldwide have been extensively learning about the bacterium and developing treatment plans. However, even with all the time and money that has been invested, the disease continues to thrive and resistance is rapidly developing to current treatment methods. In order for further advancement in treatment to occur, unfortunately more time and money is required. In the meantime better distribution of current treatments to areas heavily affected can control the spread and incidence of new disease. Regardless of which infectious disease it is, the same steps and actions will be beneficial.
Unlike infectious diseases which tend to cause panic and gather lots of attention, non-communicable diseases lack the attention and immediate concern of the people. The United Nations categorizes non-communicable diseases into four main categories; cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are the main areas of interest. As these diseases are more chronic in nature, it is hard for people to see the long term damage and ultimately the end result. The truth is that non-communicable diseases are statistically more detrimental to human health.  According to the World Health Organization, in 2004 there were 612 deaths for every 100,000 people worldwide which correlate to approximately 38.6 million people [4]. To put this into perspective, it represents more than the entire population of Canada. This accounted for more than twice the number of deaths than infectious diseases.  It is evident that non-communicable diseases claim a large number of lives yearly worldwide. A notable fact is that the number and proportion of deaths attributable to non-communicable diseases in developing countries far outnumbers those of the developed countries. In fact it has been suggested by Argus Dawson, the founding co-editor of the journal Public Health Ethics, that as much as 80% of all cardiovascular and diabetes related deaths are in developing countries [5].  Despite the significant damage for which non-communicable diseases are responsible, a large proportion is preventable. By making positive lifestyle changes such as exercising regularly, eating healthier and not indulging in excessive consumption of alcohol or not smoking, people can significantly reduce their risks. Unfortunately, millions continue to die and will continue to die, globally every year by not making the much needed changes in their lives.
In developed countries non-communicable diseases are often seen as inevitable. This could not be further from the truth. In many cases, it is our own bad habits and over indulgence that has put us in our current health situation. Since non-communicable diseases are seen as such, access to treatment is not nearly as available as it is for infectious diseases even in the developed nations. More awareness of the need for “self onus” or the need to take personal responsibility for our health needs to be done in order to arrest and reverse the prevalence of this killer. Preventative measures and better access to treatment in the form of community health programs, education, and affordable drug plans should be put into place to deal with this crisis. For those in developing countries, more awareness and better understanding of the consequences of the illnesses must be made. Once there is better understanding, current medications for treatment should be made more available and more accessible at affordable prices to people suffering in these countries.  These actions will be a beneficial investment in future global healthcare.
Perhaps the most disappointing area of Global Health is the widening inequalities of wealth and power. According to Soloman B. Benatar, a professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Joint Center for Bioethics, the gap between the fortunate and the less fortunate regarding life expectancy, maternal mortality, food and water supplies continue to grow [6]. Currently, there are more than one billion people suffering from undernourishment [7]. This is the equivalent of one   in six people around the globe. Food insecurity and an unjust food distribution system cause gross disparities between fortunate and less fortunate countries. It is unreasonable that the wealthiest 20 percent of the world’s population consumes 80 percent of the goods and services produced from the earth’s resources[8].  In the simplest of terms, this is the greed and selfishness of the wealthy.  We cannot continue on our current consumption patterns as resources will soon be depleted with the world’s growing population. According to Lynn McIntyne, a professor of Gender and Health at the University of Calgary, it is predicted that by 2050 the increase in the world’s population will require that food production be increased by 70% [9]. Reinvestment in agriculture and creating new agricultural technologies would be a positive step in preparing for the future. However, there needs to be change in the current consumption pattern to avoid depletion of the resources. Finding solutions to alleviate global poverty is necessary and urgent but it can only be accomplished once the influence of capitalism on world food prices is significantly reduced.
The role of capitalism and large corporations on Global Health cannot be ignored. Their interests are often diametrically opposed to those of lobbyist groups in favour of positive changes. During the United Nations Summit on non-communicable diseases in New York City earlier this year, the interest of the Food and Beverage Corporations was evident. The Corporation was able to stop the governments from making direct targets such as reducing sodium intake by 5 grams per day by 2015[10]. The Corporation argued that eating healthy should be a voluntary choice by the customer rather than making all foods healthier. The Declaration that was drafted failed to make any set commitments to reduce the prevalence of non-communicable diseases in the future. In fact, it was regarded as a disappointment and a failure to James Orbinski, a Nobel Peace Prize award winner and Chair in Global Health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, at the United Nations Conference[11]. The nature of capitalism is to exploit things that should be easily available to make a profit. With governments worldwide continuing to allow the influence of capitalist to affect decisions of Global Health to this great a magnitude, the livelihood and social well being of everyone is traded for monetary gains[12].
If we continue on the present path, there will be an acceleration of inequality of wealth and life expectancy between developed and developing nations. Corporations will continue to increase in power and influence and Global Health will be under their control. The United Nation`s Millennium Development estimates it will require $750 billion to deal with issues of Global Health[13]. Clearly, there is no easy or quick solution to the many components of Global Health. However if we each make conscious efforts to do our parts, change will follow in time. As the President of the University of Toronto, David Naylor stated, "There`s so much of what we have to do together to make a better world." [14]

References

---

1. World Health Organization. World Health Statistics 2010. Cause-Specific Mortality and Morbidity. 2010. Web. .
2. Population Reference Bureau. Demographic Data and Estimates for the Countries and Regions of the World. 2004. Web. .
3. Upshur, Ross. "What is Global Health?." Global Health and Global Health Ethics. University of Toronto Schools, Toronto. November 1st, 2011. In Person.
4. World Health Organization. World Health Statistics 2010. Cause-Specific Mortality and Morbidity. 2010. Web. .
5. Dawson, Argus. "Deliberating on global health ethics?." Global Health and Global Health Ethics. University of Toronto Schools, Toronto. November 1st, 2011. In Person.
6. Benatar, Soloman. "Global Health: Data, Definitions and Deliberations." Global Health and Global Health Ethics. University of Toronto Schools, Toronto. November 1st, 2011. In Person.
7. McIntyne, Lynn. "Food Insecurity." Global Health and Global Health Ethics. University of Toronto Schools, Toronto. November 1st, 2011. In Person.
8. Sagoff, Mark. "Do we consume too much?." Atlantic Online. o6/1997: n. page. Web. 10 Nov. 2011.
9. McIntyne, Lynn. "Food Insecurity." Global Health and Global Health Ethics. University of Toronto Schools, Toronto. November 1st, 2011. In Person.
10. Blouin, Chantal. The United Nations Summit on Non-communicable Diseases. University College, University of Toronto, Toronto. October 14th, 2011. In Person.
11. Orbinski, James. The United Nations Summit on Non-communicable Diseases. University College, University of Toronto, Toronto. October 14th, 2011. In Person.
12. Gill, Stephan. "The global political economy." Global Health and Global Health Ethics. University of Toronto Schools, Toronto. November 1st, 2011. In Person.
13. Gill, Stephan. "The global political economy." Global Health and Global Health Ethics. University of Toronto Schools, Toronto. November 1st, 2011. In Person.
14. Naylor, David. Global Health and Global Health Ethics. University of Toronto Schools, Toronto. November 1st, 2011. In Person.

Source(s) of Funding

---

None

Competing Interests

---

None

Disclaimer

---

This article has been downloaded from WebmedCentral. With our unique author driven post publication peer review, contents posted on this web portal do not undergo any prepublication peer or editorial review. It is completely the responsibility of the authors to ensure not only scientific and ethical standards of the manuscript but also its grammatical accuracy. Authors must ensure that they obtain all the necessary permissions before submitting any information that requires obtaining a consent or approval from a third party. Authors should also ensure not to submit any information which they do not have the copyright of or of which they have transferred the copyrights to a third party.
Contents on WebmedCentral are purely for biomedical researchers and scientists. They are not meant to cater to the needs of an individual patient. The web portal or any content(s) therein is neither designed to support, nor replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her physician. Your use of the WebmedCentral site and its contents is entirely at your own risk. We do not take any responsibility for any harm that you may suffer or inflict on a third person by following the contents of this website.