A tour de force of health topics that consistently manage to escape the global health radar
Global health is like an unregulated bazar where diseases and solutions with most x-factor get most attention and funds. Fashions change but global health’s blind spots remain the same.
The costs of armed conflict do not include long term health effects
Displaced and mobile populations are - apart from the obvious immediate health threats during conflicts - vulnerable populations in a much longer perspective than the conflict itself, in terms of self-protection, prevention, reproductive health, violence, care, empowerment and follow-up, access to information, social capital and in access to education. After the fighting stops, a peace dividend is by no means automatic; the economic recovery very much depends on whether the country is able to implement considerable policy reform. Post-war “casualties” fly under the research and the media radars, hence they are not included in the big war account.
The global increase in multi-resistant tuberculosis can be costly, also for secondarily affected health care systems as the Danish.
WHO has declared tuberculosis a global emergency and the number of multi-drug-resistant cases is increasing. This is a global problem and might be expensive for the Danish health care system if we do not place more political and financial focus on the prevention and control of tuberculosis globally.
Who emerged first: humans or viruses?
A new research center in Paris will study emerging diseases caused by new viruses and bacteria. However, none of these viruses are new or emerging. The viruses, parasites and bacteria were here long before we were. Decision to fight a transmission of wildlife viruses, occurring on the other side of the globe from a lab in Europe shows that we have not learnt much from our mistakes.
Global health is everybody’s business and much broader than healthcare. All health professionals, regardless of their location, speciality or role, are practising in an increasingly interdependent world. Therefore, our understanding of health and health care in a highly dynamic globalised world will require new ways of conceptualising and solving problems.
Why health is imperative as a foundation of Danish development assistance.
In early 2000s, WHO documented that an investment in health brings growth and development. At the same time, the Danish development policy turned its focus on economic growth. Investment in health as foundation for development was not recognized and the role of health in the Danish development cooperation started diminishing. The new Danish strategy of 2012 introduced a rights-based approach but the fundamental role of health is still not recognized. Health is a fundamental human right and a foundation for realization of other human rights.
On November 14 it’s World Diabetes Day. Why has Diabetes Mellitus got its own day?
By Ib Christian Bygbjerg, University of Copenhagen
Diabetes is just one among many other emerging health problems, which may be categorized as chronic, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and even if more than three million people may die from Diabetes annually, it is ‘only’ a 1/10 of the total number dying from NCDs world-wide.