Global health

In this decade and as part of the Monterrey Consensus (which did not pursue goals as aggressively as many activists had urged),[28] an increasing emphasis was put on measuring improvement in health outcomes, rather than merely the amount of money spent.

[30] The essays were authored by global figures in politics, science, and advocacy ranging from Bill Clinton to Peter Piot, and addressed a wide range of issues including vaccinations, antimicrobial resistance, health coverage, tobacco use, research methodology, climate change, equity, access to medicine, and media coverage of health research.

Measurements can be made in several ways: by techniques that replicate gambles about preferences for alternative states of health, with surveys or analyses that infer willingness to pay for alternative states of health, or through instruments that are based on trading off some or all likely survival time that a medical intervention might provide in order to gain less survival time of higher quality.

An estimated 0.8% [0.6–0.9%] of adults aged 15–49 years worldwide are living with HIV, although the burden of the epidemic continues to vary considerably between countries and regions.

[41] Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is transmitted through unprotected sex, unclean needles, blood transfusions, and from mother to child during birth or lactation.

[61] Often the relevance of mechanisms to stimulate research and development is limited by national scopes and "by the transnational nature of the problem which asks for an international approach".

[67] 68 low-income countries tracked by the WHO- and UNICEF-led collaboration Countdown to 2015 are estimated to hold for 97% of worldwide maternal and child deaths.

)[70] Undernutrition impairs the immune system, increasing the frequency, severity, and duration of infections (including measles, pneumonia, and diarrhea).

[71] Deficiencies of micronutrients, such as vitamin A, iron, iodine, and zinc, are common worldwide and can compromise intellectual potential, growth, development, and adult productivity.

[72][73][74][75][76][77][78] Interventions to prevent malnutrition include micronutrient supplementation, fortification of basic grocery foods, dietary diversification, hygienic measures to reduce spread of infections, and the promotion of breastfeeding.

[84] Considering that 360 million people across the world live with disabling hearing loss, including 32 million children and nearly 180 million older adults, and that chronic ear diseases, such as chronic suppurative otitis media, can lead to hearing loss and may cause life-threatening complications, the seventieth World Health Assembly on May 31, 2017 signed the resolution WHA70.13 (Agenda item 15.8) urging member states to integrate strategies for ear and hearing care within the framework of their primary health care systems, under the umbrella of universal health coverage.

"[100] In addition to causing injury, violence may increase "women's long-term risk of a number of other health problems, including chronic pain, physical disability, drug and alcohol abuse, and depression".

Primary prevention in the form of raising women economic empowerment facilities, microfinance and skills training social projects related to gender equality should be conducted.

Activities promoting relationship and communication skills among couples, reducing alcohol access and altering societal ideologies should be organized.

[107] While significant progresses have been made in fields within global health such as infectious diseases, maternal and child health, and even other non-communicable diseases over the past several decades, the provision of surgery and surgical care in resource-limited settings have largely remained unmet with about 5 billion people lacking access to safe and affordable surgical and anesthesia care.

[109] In fact, it has been estimated that up to 30% of the total global burden of disease (GBD) could be attributable to surgical conditions, which include a mix of injuries, malignancies, congenital anomalies, and complications of pregnancy.

In terms of the financial impact on the patients, the lack of adequate surgical and anesthesia care has resulted in 33 million individuals every year facing catastrophic health expenditure — the out-of-pocket healthcare cost exceeding 40% of a given household's income.

Additionally, the third edition of Disease Control Priorities (DCP3), published in 2015 by the World Bank, declared surgery as essential and featured an entire volume dedicated to building surgical capacity.

[120] Seven surgical research Hubs in Benin, Ghana, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Rwanda and South Africa with an extensive network of urban and rural ‘Spoke' hospitals have joined to create the NIHR.

The network resulted in many research groups including GlobalSurg I, II, III[123] and COVIDSurg[124] and many other trials with worldwide collaborations as project FALCON[125] and CHEETAH.

Healthspan extension and anti-aging research seek to extend the span of health in the old as well as slow aging or its negative impacts such as physical and mental decline.

Modern anti-senescent and regenerative technology with augmented decision making could help "responsibly bridge the healthspan-lifespan gap for a future of equitable global wellbeing".

[149] In its 2006 World Health Report, the WHO estimated a shortage of almost 4.3 million doctors, midwives, nurses, and support workers worldwide, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

The review mechanism will give funders of research for health the information to identify the gaps in the capacity that exist in low- and middle-income countries and the opportunity to work together to address those disparities.

[159][160] A comprehensive annually scheduled study finds climate change is "undermining every dimension of global health monitored" and reports dire conclusions from tracking of impact indicators.

[178] There is a growing willingness to use militaries in state-led support of global health efforts which have capabilities ranging from "research, surveillance, and medical expertise to rapidly deployable, large-scale assets for logistics, transportation, and security".

Action Packages are a commitment by member countries and their partners to work collaboratively towards development and implementation of International Health Regulations (IHR).

[182] Action packages are based on GHSA's aim to strengthen national and international capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats.

Each action package consists of five-year targets, measures of progress, desired impacts, country commitments, and list of baseline assessments.

In September 2014, a pilot tool was developed to measure progress of the Action Packages and applied in countries (Georgia, Peru, Uganda, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine) that volunteered to participate in an external assessment.

The World Health Organization in Geneva , Switzerland
Open Global Health at OpenCon 2015
Life expectancy by world region, from 1770 to 2018
Disability-adjusted life years per 100,000 people in 2004:
No data
Less than 9,250
9,250–16,000
16,000–22,750
22,750–29,500
29,500–36,250
36,250–43,000
43,000–49,750
49,750–56,500
56,500–63,250
63,250–70,000
70,000–80,000
Over 80000
Global number of deaths (A) and YLLs (B), by pathogen and GBD super-region, 2019 [ 47 ]
Overall age-standardised mortality rate per 100 000 population for 33 pathogens investigated, 2019 [ 47 ]
Tobacco smoking can lead to lung cancer , considered a lifestyle disease.
Leading cause of death (2016) (world)
Leading cause of death (2016) (world)
Global number of deaths (A) and YLLs (B), by bacterial pathogen (of 33) and GBD super-region, 2019 [ 98 ]
Example of impacts on health: Heat stroke treatment at Baton Rouge during the 2016 Louisiana floods . Climate change is making heat waves more intense, potentially leading to a higher risk of heat stroke.
Two petri dishes with antibiotic resistance tests
Antibiotic resistance tests : Bacteria are streaked on dishes with white disks, each impregnated with a different antibiotic. Clear rings, such as those on the left, show that bacteria have not grown—indicating that these bacteria are not resistant. The bacteria on the right are fully resistant to three of seven and partially resistant to two of seven antibiotics tested. [ 165 ]