International Agencies Worsening / Ameliorating Public Health

The World Health Organization (WHO) has created an agenda for 2030. Within this agenda there are seventeen sustainable developmental goals (SDG) that aim to transform our world. These goals are to be met through numerous different means, government policies, public change, non-government organizations (NGO) and a variety of other ways. NGO’s are a large way to help meet these goals and impact the world for the better. LRBT, an NGO that focuses on eye care for those who live in Pakistan, focuses on meeting the goal ensuring healthy lives and wellbeing for all at all ages (United nations SDG, reference). Ensuring eye care for the residents of Pakistan not only provides them with care they should be subject too always, but

The World Health Organization (WHO) is one of the United Nations (UN) agencies. WHO is working in 150 countries with the mission to provide a healthier life (WHO 2016). The WHO’s working strategy is to work with governments and other local and international partners to achieve their mutual health related goals (WHO 2016). To obtain these goals, strong leadership skills and understanding of the local problems is critical for anyone in a decision making position. Mendenhall et al (2012) deliberated that leaders who lead teams at an international level must have the capability to bring change in the organization by not only creating strong linkages within their teams, but also involve with internal and external stakeholders, including counterparts, other leaders, the people from the various governments and organizations they work with. This requires cross—cultural understanding and the ability to work within and across different sectors. For example, not only health, but also governance and education.

If a health clinic providing basic services to the world’s most vulnerable people is withheld the large amount of foreign assistance that currently comes from the United States government, all diseases will flourish, including epidemics such as Zika and Ebola (Barry-Jester, 2016). We contribute to more unstable political environments (Crimm, 2007, p.615) and more refugees that we increasingly refuse to help when we take away aid that would countries meet the needs of their citizens.

If governments are charged with ensuring access to health care for all its citizens, then we would not have a class in addressing health disparities. There may be some improvements needed in order to fully hold governments accountable, but it is something that will not change in the near future (Hathaway 2002). Furthermore, Braverman continues to charge the governments responsible for providing a right to health, but in reality most governments are limited in resources to address these issues. Some governments may have very dysfunctional systems in place that are not capable to provide equal health to all its citizens.

Grogan, C. M. (2012). The Murky Relationship between Ideology and the Role of Government in Health Policy. Journal Of Health Politics, Policy & Law, 37(3), 361-364 4p. doi:10.1215/03616878-1573058

The barriers to receiving effective public health treatment are nothing short of intimidating. Many people in the United States could die if they do not receive adequate public health that take care of their diseases. The government need to create available programs to deal with the increase of diseases and with the aging U.S. population. Invasive and debatable actions sometimes are needed it to find the causes of some diseases.

‘Public health is everyone’s business’ illustrates Jones (2012, p.2). The Faculty of Public Health regard public health as a combination of health protection, health advancement and promoting health (Griffiths and Dark, 2006, cited in Jones, 2012, p.6).

In the summer of 2014, as a part of the Global Medical Brigades, I visited and stayed at a small village in Nicaragua for 11 days. While visiting Nicaragua, I was really astonished by the lack of health care as well as, the lack of any health system in particular. Families did not have access to any type of medicine, unless they lived in the village and had money to spend. However, this was not the case for many of the families in the village so several of them suffered and fell ill to diseases and infections. Also, the water was not very clean and access to clean water, once again, could only be found in cities. About 50% of the population lives in poverty in which 85% of this population struggle to live on more than one-dollar daily (Balint 1999). Several communities are limited in their access to basic health services because of poor road infrastructure, which makes transportation and trade tremendously difficult. Historically, each step forward that Nicaragua has taken in the realm of development has been counteracted with a step back in the form of a revolution, natural disasters, repealing of funding for governmental projects or foreign aid. The focus of my research is observing and recording the factors that contribute to the high mortality rate of the Nicaragua populations and how these challenges can be combatted and resolved. My paper will discuss the inaccessibility of health care and why it is difficult to reach among populations that live in poverty and rural

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) defined the role of public health as “fulfilling society’s interest in assuring conditions in which people can be healthy” (IOM, 2011). Prevention of epidemics and the spread of disease, protection against environmental hazards, promotion of health, disaster response and recovery, and providing access to healthcare are main functions of public health.

The article by David Hemenway shed reasons why Public Health is underfunded but Medicine is always funded either through charities or investment. No one want to invest in Public Health because when you do, you do not get your name on building or a wing or room, you do not get public attention for it. But if the government are the only ones who funds Public Health wont there be problem. The government are in charge of a lot projects, because of this a lot of things fall through the cracks if they do not present immediate treat. A treat to us as individuals now, might not be a treat to the government as of now. The government only swiftly react when things are almost out of contol. Do we want our public health to be out of control before we do

The rise of public health advocates in the 19th century determined that public health education, regulation, and influencing the general public on sanitation and other public health concerns were the most affect routes to improving public health initiatives (Bethel, 2018). It was clear that the general public needed to change their habits that contributed to their unsanitary lifestyles, such as poor hygiene practices, alcohol consumption, and even prostitution. Public health reformers juggled ideas of utilitarianism and personal freedom. While public health reformers wanted to embrace utilitarianism (decisions that benefitted the greatest number of those within a group), reformers also felt strongly about allowing and maintaining personal freedoms

Global health is defined as “health problems, issues, or concerns that transcend national borders” (Institute of Medicine, 1997, p. 2). Koplan (2009) proposed a new definition for global health which he described as an “area for study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide” (para, 7). Global health emphasizes transnational health issues, determinants, and solutions from an interdisciplinary perspective and blends population health and clinical care.

This includes virtually any governmental action needed to control the threat to the population. Therefore, in order to fulfill that responsibility to ensure the public's health state public health authorities could (as they have in the past) temporarily constrain certain civil liberties. They can require private sector participation in public health objectives, shut down potentially harmful industries, destroy contaminated property, deport or prevent the entry of individuals who may infect others, ration supplies, and control the flow of information (Hodge, 2002).

Public health power influences are constantly growing. During the twentieth century majority of the expansion happened for public health power, because of the federal government’s position in primarily focusing on protecting the public in food and drug safety, environmental protection, and occupational health and safety, and many others. The Federal government influence stretched higher levels when the federal government purchase a major part of personal health care services through the Medicare and Medicaid titles of the Social Security Act after 1965 (Turnock & Atchison, 2002).

Winslow’s definition of public health incorporates environmental sanitation; infections control, personal hygiene; early diagnosis and preventative treatment all achieved through organised community efforts. Rothstein (2002) as cited in Verweij and Dawson (n.d) sees public health as the role of the government in taking action to protect the health of the public. However, Rothstein shifts the boundaries even further and does not see the “human rights as public” argument because “just because war, crime, hunger, poverty, illiteracy,, homelessness, and human rights abuse [including domestic violence] interfere with the health of individuals and populations, does not mean that eliminating these conditions is part of the mission of public health”(Rothstein 2000). Rothstein’s argument lends credence to the need for a multi-sectoral or interagency approach to tackling public health and societal problems like domestic violence that affect the health and wellbeing of individuals and populations.