Global Health

The world is constantly facing a multitude of threats and health challenges, as well. With population explosion being one of our most significant issues, there are a range of outbreaks and diseases that plague our planet no matter how many vaccines we design, to fight them. Growing rates of drug-resistant pathogens, obesity becoming a prevalent issue and physical inactivity increasing more and more, we need to do all we can to make sure that the general mass knows these issues and we, humans who are affected by these issues need to do something about it. Even though it may not actually cause cataclysmic changes, we at least have to try. We need to hope, without hope we are lost.

 

To address so many of these threats, the year 2019 has seen the start of the WHO’s (World Health Organization) 5-year plan. This plan targets on a triple billion mass. They want to ensure that at least 1 billion people benefit from universal health coverage, another billion are protected from health emergencies, and the other billion enjoy a proper way of life, in terms of health. Below I have listed the top issues that demand the attention of the WHO:

 

 

• Climate change and air pollution have increased radically in the last two decades. With the emergence of the digital age, there have been too many people in the cities, which means too many vehicles polluting the air. Air pollution doesn’t just happen by cars or trucks; it happens by large factories, emitting harmful smoke and gases into the atmosphere, which destroys the fresh air that we NEED. 9/10 people breathe polluted air, and as you can see the numbers are true, YOU are probably one of those people breathing polluted air, if you live in Delhi or China; as they are the most polluted places on the planet. Climate change is real. The temperature is warmer by 3 degrees, and this number increases every year.

 

• Non- communicable diseases like diabetes, heart disease and cancer are together responsible for more than 70% of all deaths across the planet. These diseases are the leading cause of premature deaths (ages 30-60).

 

• Vulnerable and fragile settings play a huge role as more than 1.8 billion souls (22% of the entire global population) live in areas where there is severe drought, famine, population explosions, intense conflicts, severely weak health services, etc.

 

• Vaccine hesitancy can be construed as the reluctance or even refusal to vaccinate themselves despite the fact that there is an availability of vaccines. Vaccination is one of the best and cost-effective ways to avoid diseases, and it currently prevents 3-4 million deaths per year.