In the globalized world everything is interlinked with each other. A drought in some part of the world can influence as a migration fluid. An epidemic which starts as local, can spread quickly and becomes international and global. None of us lives in an isolated island and can think that things that happen in the world would not influence in our lives. We live in a so called "global village" and there for health in a global level is not only important because of the reason that the health risks can influence on our own lives, but because it can influence on others lives as well.
Health in a global level is also more profound and an ethical question. There is a huge gap in health issues between the rich and the poor. The fact is that the most if the health risks are confronted in the developing countries, where there is a lack of infrastructure, knowledge, social services, medicines, professionals and financial shortage. Also the cultural and social issues are important factors to take into consideration when reflecting the facts of the health in a global level.
So what can we in the western countries make in order to ensure that everybody in the world would have a basic health care? Pressuring the policy makers, reducing our carbon dioxide gases or donating money to the organisations like the Red Cross? Either way each one of us with our actions and decisions can influence for a change and for a better life for many people in this Earth.
Global or public health is not so much a medicine discipline, but more like collective of interdisciplinary methods, sciences and policies. In the global level it is important to consider the facts like: how do we ensure basic health care for everybody and how do we prevent that natural events and epidemics do not manipulate people’s lives? And because of this health in a global level needs policy making in the national and in the international level. The most important organisations in the global health issues are the WHO and the World Bank. However, the importance of the WTO and the NGO’s or non-profits should not be neglected.
In the research made by Huynen, Martens and Hilderink some of the key issues mentioned were the trade, migration, conflicts, social equity, knowledge, ecosystems, social environment, lifestyle, food and water (Huynen, M., Martens, P. & Hilderink, H. 2005.) All these things are a very much present in our daily lives, there for they are global and have to be considered as a factors that influence on health in a global level. Also the new technologies allow people to be in connection with each other all over the world. Facebook, Twitter, Google, all kinds of groups and blogs, not to mention the ever faster ways of travel. On the other hand people say that this connection increases the gap between people's lives, but still it can also give them an easier tool to search all kind of information, create cultural and social understanding or look for people who confront same kind of problems or ideologies.
Unfortunately the gap between the poor and the rich result that many of the factors that influence the health in a global level affect more into the lives of the poor living in the Global South. And this, I think is a fact, that should be further considered and taken even more seriously in the future.
Sources:
- Huynen, M., Martens, P. & Hilderink, H. 2005. The health impacts of globalisation: a conceptual framework. Globalization and Health 1:14.
- Kickbusch, I. 2002. Global Health - A definition.
- Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) 2002.Public Health: What's it really about?
- Office of Global Health, Tulane University.URL: http://www.sph.tulane.edu/FGH/collaborators.htm
Hi Chascona !
VastaaPoistaIn your article I found really interesting the first paragraph where you insist about the situation in this current world influenced by the globalization. Your examples which show these permanent flows and interactions are very clear. And I like the re-use of the "global village" notion in the case of public health.
However, concerning the third paragraph I found your line of arguments too "light", if I can allow myself to critizise your article. :)
I am not sure that pressuring policy makers is enough, firstly we need well-informed individuals, as well as in populations than in leaderships. To my mind, this fact is the base for every decisions making. In the same way, I think the second most important base is the existence of a real "framework" to allow all public health actors to work efficiently together, as explains so clearly Ilon Kickbusch in her "Global Health, a definition" (2002). Because rules and help only provided by "rich and developed" countries to poorer and "less developed" countries, without consultation of concerned populations and their represantatives (political actors, NGOs, local groups, ...), can not be really well suited to the regional setting (politic system, history, geopolitic issues, ...). For example, an aid programm organized by European countries can fail just due to the climate which is different in the helped country and can completely modify issues of one problem, comparatively to usual European circumstances.
Finally, I did not really understand the direct link between reducing our gas production and global health.
Enjoy to comment !
Alicephi
Hey Alicephi and thank you for your comment.
VastaaPoistaIn the third paragaph the arguments were simplified examples of some things that the regular people can do in their lives, I agree that there are so many other things behind them if you really want to make a difference. I also agree that the problems in policy making come too often from the ideas and concepts directly imported from western realities (as well as from the lack information in the dicision making level or from corruption). Hopefully there would be some changes in that in the future. And by that I also mean educating the westerners to understand the realities in the South. In any case I find that education is the most powerful tool, educationg the "ordinary" people has a great importance in increasing the number of well-informed individuals. However, the "ordinary" people in the developing countries can not recieve a good education if there are not some changes in the policy making level.
And finally, carbon dioxide gases influences on the global warming, and global warming infuences on many of the factors that increase health problems in a global level (such as the natural disasters). That way I see that there is a connection between these two issues. Unfortunately also carbon dioxide gases is also mainly produced in the North and that would also need more well-imformed individuals in the North.