Global health

Disability-adjusted life years per 100,000 people in 2004.

  No data

  Less than 9,250

  9,250–16,000

  16,000–22,750

  22,750–29,500

  29,500–36,250

  36,250–43,000

  43,000–49,750

  49,750–56,500

  56,500–63,250

  63,250–70,000

  70,000–80,000

  Over 80000

The DALY is a summary measure that combines the impact of illness, disability, and mortality by measuring the time lived with disability and the time lost due to premature mortality. One DALY can be thought of as one lost year of "healthy" life. The DALY for a disease is the sum of the years of life lost due to premature mortality and the years lost due to disability for incident cases of the health condition.

QALYs combine expected survival with expected quality of life into a single number: if an additional year of healthy life is worth a value of one (year), then a year of less healthy life is worth less than one (year). QALY calculations are based on measurements of the value that individuals place on expected years of survival. Measurements can be made in several ways: by techniques that replicate gambles about preferences for alternative states of health, with surveys or analyses that infer willingness to pay for alternative states of health, or through instruments that are based on trading off some or all likely survival time that a medical intervention might provide in order to gain less survival time of higher quality.[22]

Infant mortality and child mortality for children under age 5 are more specific than DALYs or QALYs in representing the health in the poorest sections of a population, and are thus especially useful when focusing on health equity.[23]

Morbidity measures include incidence rate, prevalence, and cumulative incidence, with incidence rate referring to the risk of developing a new health condition within a specified period of time. Although sometimes loosely expressed simply as the number of new cases during a time period, morbidity is better expressed as a proportion or a rate.

Infections of the respiratory tract and middle ear are major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide.[24] Some respiratory infections of global significance include tuberculosis, measles, influenza, coronaviruses and pneumonias caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Morbillivirus, Haemophilus influenzae and Pneumococci respectively. The spread of respiratory infections is exacerbated by crowded conditions, and poverty is associated with more than a 20-fold increase in the relative burden of lung infections.[25]

Diarrhea is the second most common cause of child mortality worldwide, responsible for 17% of deaths of children under age 5.[26] Poor sanitation can increase transmission of bacteria and viruses through water, food, utensils, hands, and flies. Dehydration due to diarrhea can be effectively treated through oral rehydration therapy with dramatic reductions in mortality.[27][28] Important nutritional measures include the promotion of breastfeeding and zinc supplementation. While hygienic measures alone may be insufficient for the prevention of rotavirus diarrhea,[29] it can be prevented by a safe and potentially cost-effective vaccine.[30]

Maternal health clinic in Afghanistan (source: Merlin)

Complications of pregnancy and childbirth are the leading causes of death among women of reproductive age. In many developing countries, a woman dies from complications from childbirth approximately every minute.[31] According to the World Health Organization's 2005 World Health Report, poor maternal conditions are the fourth leading cause of death for women worldwide, after HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis.[32] Most maternal deaths and injuries can be prevented, and such deaths have been largely eradicated in the developed world.[33] Targets for improving maternal health include increasing the number of deliveries accompanied by skilled birth attendants.[34]

68 low-income countries tracked by the WHO- and UNICEF-led collaboration Countdown to 2015 are estimated to hold for 97% of worldwide maternal and child deaths.[35]

The HIV/AIDS epidemic has highlighted the global nature of human health and welfare and globalization has given rise to a trend toward finding common solutions to global health challenges. Numerous international funds have been set up in recent times to address global health challenges such as HIV. [36]Since the beginning of the epidemic, more than 70 million people have been infected with the HIV virus and about 35 million people have died of HIV. Globally, 36.9 million [31.1–43.9 million] people were living with HIV at the end of 2017. An estimated 0.8% [0.6–0.9%] of adults aged 15–49 years worldwide are living with HIV, although the burden of the epidemic continues to vary considerably between countries and regions. The WHO African region remains most severely affected, with nearly 1 in every 25 adults (4.1%) living with HIV and accounting for nearly two-thirds of the people living with HIV worldwide.[37] Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is transmitted through unprotected sex, unclean needles, blood transfusions, and from mother to child during birth or lactation. Globally, HIV is primarily spread through sexual intercourse. The risk-per-exposure with vaginal sex in low-income countries from female to male is 0.38% and male to female is 0.3%.[38]The infection damages the immune system, leading to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and eventually, death. Antiretroviral drugs prolong life and delay the onset of AIDS by minimizing the amount of HIV in the body.

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by the parasites of the genus Plasmodium. Symptoms may include fever, headaches, chills, and nausea. Each year, there are approximately 500 million cases of malaria worldwide, most commonly among children and pregnant women in developing countries.[39] The WHO African Region carries a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden. In 2016, the region was home to 90% of malaria cases and 91% of malaria deaths. [40]The use of insecticide-treated bed nets is a cost-effective way to reduce deaths from malaria, as is prompt artemisinin-based combination therapy, supported by intermittent preventive therapy in pregnancy. International travelers to endemic zones are advised chemoprophylaxis with antimalarial drugs like Atovaquone-proguanil, doxycycline, or mefloquine[41]

Two types of malnutrition

In 2010, about 104 million children were underweight, and undernutrition contributes to about one third of child deaths around the

world.[42] (Undernutrition is not to be confused with malnutrition, which refers to poor proportion of food intake and can thus refer to obesity.)[43] Undernutrition impairs the immune system, increasing the frequency, severity, and duration of infections (including measles, pneumonia, and diarrhea). Infection can further contribute to malnutrition.[44] Deficiencies of micronutrient, such as vitamin A, iron, iodine, and zinc, are common worldwide and can compromise intellectual potential, growth, development, and adult productivity.[45][46][47][48][49][50] Interventions to prevent malnutrition include micronutrient supplementation, fortification of basic grocery foods, dietary diversification, hygienic measures to reduce spread of infections, and the promotion of breastfeeding.

STOP: Violence Against Women

Violence against women has been defined as: "physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family and in the general community, including battering, sexual abuse, dowry-related violence, rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women, forced prostitution and violence perpetrated or condoned by the state."[51] In addition to causing injury, violence may increase "women's long-term risk of a number of other health problems, including chronic pain, physical disability, drug and alcohol abuse, and depression".[52] The WHO Report on global and regional estimates on violence against women found that partner abuse causes women to have 16% more chances of suffering miscarriages, 41% more occurrences of pre-term birth babies and twice the likeliness of having abortions and acquiring HIV or other STDs [53]

Although statistics can be difficult to obtain as many cases go unreported, it is estimated that one in every five women faces some form of violence during her lifetime, in some cases leading to serious injury or even death.[54] Risk factors for being an offender include low education, past exposure to child maltreatment or witnessing violence between parents, harmful use of alcohol, attitudes accepting of violence and gender inequality.[55] Equality of women has been addressed in the Millennium development goals. Now, Gender Equality is Sustainable Development Goal 5. Preventing the violence against women needs to form an essential part of the public health reforms in the form of advocation and evidence gathering. Primary prevention in the form of raising women economic empowerment facilities, microfinance and skills training social projects related to gender equality should be conducted. Activities promoting relationship and communication skills among couples, reducing alcohol access and altering societal ideologies should be organized. Childhood interventions, community and school-based education, raising media-oriented awareness and other approaches should be carried out to challenge social norms and stereotypical thought processes to promote behavioral change among men and raise gender equality. Trained health care providers would play a vital role in secondary and tertiary prevention of abuse, by performing early identification of women suffering from violence and contributing to the addressing of their health and psychological needs. They could be highly important in prevention of the recurrence of violence and the mitigation of its effects on the health of the abused women and their children.[56] The Member States of the World Health Assembly endorsed a plan in 2016 for reinforcing the health system's role in addressing the global phenomenon of violence against women and girls and working towards their health and protection.[57]

Approximately 80% of deaths linked to non-communicable diseases occur in developing countries.[58] For instance, urbanization and aging have led to increasing poor health conditions related to non-communicable diseases in India. The fastest-growing causes of disease burden over the last 26 years were diabetes (rate increased by 80%) and ischemic heart disease (up 34%). More than 60% of deaths, about 6.1 million, in 2016 were due to NCDs, up from about 38% in 1990.[59] Increases in refugee urbanization, has led to a growing number of people diagnosed with chronic non-communicable diseases.[60]

In September 2011, the United Nations is hosting its first General Assembly Special Summit on the issue of non-communicable diseases.[61] Noting that non-communicable diseases are the cause of some 35 million deaths each year, the international community is being increasingly called to take measures for the prevention and control of chronic diseases and mitigate their impacts on the world population, especially on women, who are usually the primary caregivers.

For example, the rate of type 2 diabetes, associated with obesity, has been on the rise in countries previously troubled by hunger. In low-income countries, the number of individuals with diabetes is expected to increase from 84 million to 228 million by 2030.[62] Obesity, a preventable condition, is associated with numerous chronic diseases, including cardiovascular conditions, stroke, certain cancers, and respiratory disease. About 16% of the global burden of disease, measured as DALYs, has been accounted for by obesity.[62]

More than one billion people were treated for at least one neglected tropical disease in 2015.[63] Neglected tropical diseases are a diverse group of infectious diseases that are endemic in tropical and subtropical regions of 149 countries, primarily effecting low and middle income populations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. They are variously caused by bacteria (Trachoma, Leprosy), viruses (Dengue,[64] Rabies), protozoa (Human African trypanosomiasis, Chagas), and helminths (Schistosomiasis, Onchocerciasis, Soil transmitted helminths).[65] The Global Burden of Disease Study concluded that neglected tropical diseases comprehensively contributed to approximately 26.06 million disability-adjusted life years in 2010, as well as significant deleterious economic effects.[66] In 2011, the World Health Organization launched a 2020 Roadmap for neglected tropical diseases, aiming for the control or elimination of 10 common diseases.[67] The 2012 London Declaration builds on this initiative, and called on endemic countries and the international community to improve access to clean water and basic sanitation, improved living conditions, vector control, and health education, to reach the 2020 goals.[68] In 2017, a WHO report cited 'unprecedented progress' against neglected tropical diseases since 2007, especially due to mass drug administration of drugs donated by pharmaceutical companies.[69]

Surgery remains grossly neglected in global health, famously described by Halfdan T. Mahler as the 'neglected stepchild of global health'. This particularly affects low-resource settings with weak surgical health systems. 'Global surgery' is the term now adopted to describe the rapidly developing field seeking to address this, and has been defined as 'the multidisciplinary enterprise of providing improved and equitable surgical care to the world's population, with its core belief as the issues of need, access and quality'.[70]

Surgical diseases make up at least 11% of the global burden of disease, with a mix of injuries, malignancies, congenital anomalies, and complications of pregnancy.[71] Globally, 4.2 million people are estimated to die within 30 days of surgery each year, with half of these occurring in low- and middle-income countries.[72] There is significant variation in outcomes associated with the development level of the country where surgery is taking place. A prospective study of 10,745 adults undergoing emergency abdominal surgery from 357 centers across 58 countries found that mortality is three times higher in low- compared with high- Human Development Index (HDI) countries even when adjusted for predictive factors.[73]

The right to health care is a key component of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and has lacked the appropriate attention in low-income countries in recent history.[74][21][71] Surgical diseases can result in considerable morbidity and mortality for individuals whom are unable to access appropriate care, yet in low-income countries, this category of disease has been considered too expensive to invest in.[21] In recent years, however, it has been recognized that surgical diseases are a neglected health problem of great proportion and requires urgent prioritization.[21] Surgical conditions such as appendicitis, complications of abdominal hernias, and obstructed labor can be fatal if not treated by a surgical team. On a global scale, the financial consequences of citizens dying from potentially treatable surgical conditions translates into upwards of $12.3 trillion of lost economic productivity to LMICs between 2015 and 2030 if no action is taken to improve access to surgical care.[21]

Data from WHO and the World Bank indicate that scaling up infrastructure to enable access to surgical care in regions where it is currently limited or is non-existent, in fact, a low-cost measure relative to the significant morbidity and mortality caused by lack of surgical treatment.[71] For example, it is estimated that 90% of maternal deaths could be prevented with basic surgical care.[21] From a cost perspective, studies at district hospitals have demonstrated that provision of basic surgical care can be on par with vaccination programs, which counters a common perception of surgical care as a financially prohibitive endeavor in LMICs.[71] Furthermore, the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery estimates $12.3 trillion in economic productivity will be lost in developing countries by 2030 if access to surgical care is not improved.[21] Bellwether procedures are considered a minimum level of care that first-level hospitals should be able to provide in order to capture the most basic emergency surgical care. These include 3 main surgical procedures; laparotomy (for abdominal emergencies), caesarean section, and treatment of an open fracture.[21][71][75] This would require anesthetists, obstetricians, surgeons, nurses, and facilities with operating theatres and pre- and post-surgical care capabilities.

The Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) is "a multilateral, multi-sector effort that includes 60 participating countries and numerous private and public international organizations focused on building up worldwide health security capabilities toward meeting such threats" as the spread of infectious disease. On March 26–28, 2018, the GHSA held a high-level meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia, on biosurveillance of infectious disease threats, "which include such modern-day examples as HIV/AIDS, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), H1N1 influenza, multi-drug resistant tuberculosis — any emerging or reemerging disease that threatens human health and global economic stability."[84] This event brought together GHSA partner countries, contributing countries of Real-Time Surveillance Action Package, and international partner organizations supporting the strengthening of capacities to detect infectious disease threats within the Real-Time Surveillance Action Package and other cross-cutting packages. Georgia is the lead country for the Real-Time Surveillance Action Package.[85]

GHSA works through four main mechanisms of member action, action packages, task forces and international cooperation. In 2015, the Steering Group of the GHSA agreed upon the implementation of their commitments through 11 Action Packages. Action Packages are a commitment by member countries and their partners to work collaboratively towards development and implementation of International Health Regulations (IHR).[86] Action packages are based on GHSA's aim to strengthen national and international capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats. Each action package consists of five-year targets, measures of progress, desired impacts, country commitments, and list of baseline assessments.[87] The Joint External Evaluation process, derived as part of the IHR Monitoring and Evaluation Framework is an assessment of a country's capacity for responding to public health threats.[86] So far, G7 partners and EU have made a collective commitment to assist 76 countries whereas the US committed to helping 32 countries to achieve GHSA targets for IHR implementation. In September 2014, a pilot tool was developed to measure progress of the Action Packages and applied in countries (Georgia, Peru, Uganda, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine) that volunteered to participate in an external assessment.[88]