Global health is a broad term that encompasses different issues and strategies, but they all have the same goal of improving the health of people across the globe—no matter their geographic location, cultural background, or socioeconomic status. Learning more about global health and the biggest issues in global health can help understand how this particular specialty can be used to improve the lives of millions of people in need around the world.

What is global health? You may have heard the term floating around, but do you know what it means to be in global health? How does global health relate to medicine and public health, and how does it affect our daily lives? These are all excellent questions, and we’re going to provide the answers today! First of all, let’s start with the basics of global health, who exactly fits into this field, and what they do on a day-to-day basis.

Global Health Defined

Global health is the health of populations around the world. It takes into account not just physical health, but also mental and social health. The goal of global health is to ensure that all people have the opportunity to live healthy, prosperous lives.

The Biggest Issues in Global Health (three sentences): One of the biggest issues in global health is access to quality healthcare. Another big issue is disease prevention and control. Diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and dengue fever disproportionately affect poor communities across the globe. Climate change can worsen these conditions by affecting mosquito-borne diseases like malaria or by making floods or droughts more common. Yet another important issue is providing clean water and sanitation for everyone. Globally, nearly 2 billion people don’t have enough clean water to drink and almost 1 billion people don’t have basic sanitation services. Access to potable water leads to better food security, less disease, improved education outcomes, and greater economic growth. On the other hand, inadequate sanitation costs developing countries an estimated $260 billion a year from lost productivity and preventable illnesses.

The 5 Biggest Issues in Global Health

1. Lack of access to quality healthcare – A staggering number of people around the world do not have access to quality healthcare. This lack of access can lead to a host of other health problems, including preventable illnesses and death. 

2. Lack of clean water and sanitation – According to the World Health Organization, over 2 billion people do not have access to clean water and 4.5 billion people do not have access to adequate sanitation. Every day, children die from diarrhea caused by unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation. 3. Malnutrition – More than 850 million people in the world suffer from malnutrition every year due to hunger or inadequate food intake. Children under 5 years old are most vulnerable to malnutrition because they require nutritious food more than any other age group in order for their bodies to grow properly. 4. Preventable illness – Over 20% of all global deaths each year are from diseases that are easily prevented with vaccines. These vaccine-preventable diseases include measles, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib). 5. The environmental effects on health – Pollution harms our environment which has significant impacts on human health. For example, air pollution causes respiratory and cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and many others. Clean air protects us from some of these diseases. Our natural resources like fresh water also affect our health. For example, 30% of hospital beds in Africa are occupied by people suffering from waterborne diseases such as cholera. Although this issue may seem foreign, it could very well happen right here at home if we don’t take precautions against it. At this point you may be wondering what you can do to help improve global health. 

Communicable Diseases

A communicable disease is an illness that can be passed from person to person. The three main types of communicable diseases are bacteria, viruses, and fungi. The most common communicable diseases include influenza, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS. In order to prevent the spread of communicable diseases, it is important to practice good hygiene, get vaccinated, and avoid contact with sick people. However, not everyone has access to these practices and so often falls victim to these diseases. As a result, there have been various outbreaks around the world such as the one in West Africa which lead to an Ebola epidemic in 2014-2016 that killed more than 11,000 people. Preventing communicable diseases is not just about fighting against those which exist today but also preparing for future threats we may not even know about yet by investing in research and development for new vaccines and medications.

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