Global health issues across borders

Global health is the health of populations worldwide, with a priority on improving health and achieving equity for all people. This path helps readers understand how health is shaped and addressed around the world, and moves across themes including sanitation, infectious disease, air quality, and pandemic preparedness.

3 articles, 1 book · about 1 hr 6 min of reading and viewing

The reading path

1. Read
   

   global health issues · Wikipedia · 59 min read

   Diarrhea is the second most common cause of child mortality worldwide, responsible for 17% of deaths of children under age 5. Poor sanitation can increase transmission of bacteria and viruses through water, food, utensils, hands, and flies. Undernutrition is a global health issue because it impairs the immune system, increasing the frequency, severity, and duration of infections, including measles, pneumonia, and diarrhea. Infection can further contribute to malnutrition. The WHO African Region carries a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden: in 2016, it was home to 90% of malaria cases and 91% of malaria deaths.

2. Read
   

   Tackling climate change will reap benefits for human health - Carbon Brief · Carbon Brief · 5 min read

   In China, scientists estimated that air pollution reduces average life expectancy by more than three years, but that this could be halved with stringent climate mitigation. The authors call for a rapid phase-out of coal as part of an "early and decisive" policy package.

3. Read
   

   Could Foreign Policy Stop Another Pandemic? - JSTOR Daily · JSTOR Daily · 2 min read

   The article suggests increasing funding for proven efforts to fight and prevent pandemics, including programs to train field epidemiologists in vulnerable places, which can be highly effective. It argues that every dollar spent on these efforts is likely to generate returns of $17 to $20.

4. Book
   

   Mountains Beyond Mountains · Bookshop.org

   Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder describes Farmer's calling to diagnose and cure infectious diseases and bring modern medicine to those who need it, and his enlistment of the Gates Foundation, George Soros, and the U.N.'s World Health Organization in that quest. Kidder's account shows how medical work and institutional support figure in efforts to address global health issues.

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