Global Health Issues.

So I told you in my last post that my ideal role in public health is to be involved in global health. I think that most people know that health around the world is not all that great but I don't think that everyone knows why it is so poor and what the actual issues are. I will be honest and say that until a little while ago I wasn't very aware of what exactly the issues are so I don't blame anyone for not knowing. 

I think the best way to start looking at what issues are really contributing to poor global health is to look at the Millennium Development Goals.

The Millennium Development Goals were set by the United Nations in 2000. These goals were set with the idea that they would be achieved by 2015. We have a long way to go with the goals but good progress has been made. 

1. Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

2. Achieve Universal Primary Education

3. To Promote Gender Equality and Empowering Women

4. To Reduce Child Mortality Rates

5. To Improve Maternal Health

6. To Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Other Diseases

7. To Ensure Environmental Sustainability

8.To Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Not all of these goals are explicitly related to health but I think that all of them can be applied to general health outcomes. I also think that they address the biggest health issues currently plaguing the earth. I will go into more depth on each of the goals later but I think that they provide a good framework from which to start examining global health issues.

In addition to these issues that are being worked on by the Millennium Development Goals there are issue like sanitation, war, disasters, access to healthcare, population, and corrupt governments that can lead to poor health. These issues are all so complicated that there is really no simple solution.  Many people believe that more money is the best and only solution but that just is not true. You can throw money at problems all day long but unless there is a good infrastructure in place to receive and distribute the funds then no significant progress will be made.