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The Quest for improved global health will be elusive if we continue to neglect the upstream forces that cause, sustain and aggravate the poverty and misery that characterize the lives of almost half the world’s population
This is a massive statement and is true to the point that we all live as part of the one world and we are all contributing to its demise.

To many people global health problems consist of diseases in Africa and the global spread of aids and avian flu, some of which the west could make a huge difference with the supply of cheap readily available drugs. This is indeed true but the problem is far more complex and harder to put right than convincing glaxo smithkline to cut its profit margins on new drugs. These companies invest millions in drug development, are run for profit so the returns on quick fix drugs for depression, tension, and stress rather than harder to find cures such as AIDS. Also when the drug as been passed through vigorous and expensive testing the company wants to return its investment as quickly as possible by charging the most it can for the drugs- this then puts them out of the price range of poorer countries.

Global health faces much wider problems than just infectious disease controls, including, nutrition, development, conflict, corruption and rising food costs all of which contribute to the failing world global health


Nutrition



“The world produces enough food to feed every man, woman and child on earth. Hunger and malnutrition therefore are not due to lack of food alone, but are also the consequences of poverty, inequality and misplaced priorities.” – UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Kul C. Gautam

[Executive speech, To the World Food Summit: Five Years Later, 11/6/02]

Again most people think of Africa and India when thinking of malnutrition, but richer countries also have huge problem with nutrition...