Global Health Issues Examples. What Are They?
Healthful Vitality | 09/29/2021 | By NP Team | Global Health Issues Examples
There are numerous health issues the world is facing. Without the cooperation between various nations, overcoming these issues would be challenging. Covid-19 is just one example. Global initiatives can work with great effectiveness. Just take the example of Polio, which is now a rare disease in some countries. Even the spread of HIV infection is significantly contained.
Below are some of the examples of global issues the world is facing in the 21st century.
Speed up Covid-19 testing and vaccination
It is the first pandemic of the 21st century. It demonstrated the importance of global health. There is now a need to speed up testing, and more importantly, vaccinate most people. It is a considerable challenge since it requires two doses of vaccine for a person and vaccinating the entire global population.
It will also require developed economies to play a greater role in helping low-income nations to meet their needs. Eradicating covid-19 locally is not going to work for any nation.
Global health issues examples: Healthcare for all
Many nations continue to neglect healthcare, investing much less than in defense or other sectors. When the covid-19 epidemic stuck, it demonstrated that even some high-income countries were not ready. It has been the result of years of neglect.
Health inequalities
They just do not exist between the low-income and high-income nations. These disparities exist in every country. In some nations, there may be gender inequalities. While in others, certain ethnic groups may not get adequate care.
Even in advanced economies, huge disparities remain. Many fail to provide adequate health care in common disease conditions. In some developed economies, a large number of individuals are unable to afford insurance or pay for healthcare. Thus, health inequalities are a global and not a local issue.
Global health issues examples: Emerging drug resistance
Since the mid of the 20th century, many new antibiotics have been invented. It helped control bacterial infections quite effectively. It even helped reduce the prevalence of tuberculosis. However, the emergence of multi-antibiotic resistant strains is one of the enormous global problems. It has caused an upsurge in the cases of diseases like tuberculosis in some nations. It is also contributing to higher mortality due to other bacterial infections.
Prevent NCD like diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders, and mental disorders
Lastly, but most importantly, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have emerged as a surprise for many nations. They are epidemic, and they almost equally affect high-income and low-income countries. Although it is known that they have lots to do with lifestyle, but they are still not fully understood yet.
Dementia like Alzheimer’s is now the leading cause of mortality and disability. Yet, even its etiology and pathogenesis are not understood, and there is no effective treatment. Even worse, little is known about its preventive measures.
Mental disorders like anxiety and depression are also global health issues. Many mental disorders were regarded as orphan diseases in the mid-20th century, and they are now epidemic. The world is changing in such a way that there is a common disease pattern among the nations. There are just a few diseases that are limited to specific geographical locations. It only underlines the importance of global healthcare.
(Also Read: The Worsening Pandemic Performance Reveals Declining Governance in Developing Countries)