Forced migration, globalization, and global public health

2019 ◽  
pp. 3-18
Author(s):  
Pascale Allotey ◽  
Daniel D. Reidpath

This chapter sets the context for the book by highlighting the political and legal constructs that underlie the various categories of people on the move throughout the world, including recent trends and changes. We establish the importance of refugee health as an area of public health, and briefly outline the intersectionality of the issues that result in health-related vulnerabilities for this population group. The chapter also notes the updates from the previous edited collection, which was published as long ago as 2003, and introduces the various aspects of the health of refugees discussed in later chapters by the contributors to this volume.

2021 ◽  
pp. 19-23
Author(s):  
Donizete Tavares Da Silva ◽  
Priscila De Sousa Barros Lima ◽  
Renato Sampaio Mello Neto ◽  
Gustavo Magalhães Valente ◽  
Débora Dias Cabral ◽  
...  

In March 2020, the World Health Organization (1) declared COVID-19 as a pandemic and a threat to global public health (2). The virus mainly affects the lungs and can cause acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). In addition, coronavirus 2 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARSCOV2) also has devastating effects on other important organs, including the circulatory system, brain, gastrointestinal tract, kidneys and liver


2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 511-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudeepa Abeysinghe

ArgumentScientific uncertainty is fundamental to the management of contemporary global risks. In 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the start of the H1N1 Influenza Pandemic. This declaration signified the risk posed by the spread of the H1N1 virus, and in turn precipitated a range of actions by global public health actors. This article analyzes the WHO's public representation of risk and examines the centrality of scientific uncertainty in the case of H1N1. It argues that the WHO's risk narrative reflected the context of scientific uncertainty in which it was working. The WHO argued that it was attempting to remain faithful to the scientific evidence, and the uncertain nature of the threat. However, as a result, the WHO's public risk narrative was neither consistent nor socially robust, leading to the eventual contestation of the WHO's position by other global public health actors, most notably the Council of Europe. This illustrates both the significance of scientific uncertainty in the investigation of risk, and the difficulty for risk managing institutions in effectively acting in the face of this uncertainty.


2020 ◽  

In the past 100 years, the world has faced four distinctly different pandemics: the Spanish flu of 1918-1919, the SARS pandemic of 2003, the H1N1 or “swine flu” pandemic of 2012, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Each public health crisis exposed specific systemic shortfalls and provided public health lessons for future events. The Spanish flu revealed a nursing shortage and led to a great appreciation of nursing as a profession. SARS showed the importance of having frontline clinicians be able to work with regulators and those producing guidelines. H1N1 raised questions about the nature of a global organization such as the World Health Organization in terms of the benefits and potential disadvantages of leading the fight against a long-term global public health threat. In the era of COVID-19, it seems apparent that we are learning about both the blessing and curse of social media.


Author(s):  
Tim Lang ◽  
Martin Caraher

This chapter will help you understand: the relationships between international policy and policy action at multiple levels; why public health practitioners should build an international dimension into their work; how to influence and advance public health internationally, even through local action. The chapter uses examples from the world of food and health policy (on which the authors work) to illustrate the structures and processes of engagement you may encounter. In the policy worlds of both global public health and food, there is a mix of improvement and threats, inequalities alongside progress, fragmentation, and coherence. Similar trends in the global South and developed countries may have underlying drivers at work, resulting in the double burden of disease. It is preferable to ensure that international policies tackle rather than ignore those determinants.


2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Siddharth Raj Yadav ◽  
Rohit Kumar ◽  
Nitesh Gupta ◽  
Pranav Ish ◽  
Shibdas Chakrabarti ◽  
...  

To the EditorNovel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first notified in December 2019 from Wuhan, China. Now, it has spread rapidly and has been declared a pandemic affecting over 200 countries with widespread morbidity and mortality. It has been postulated that the most vulnerable population are the elderly, people living in crowded areas, children and immune-compromised individuals, such as people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The correlation of tuberculosis (TB), HIV and malnutrition are well documented and hence, people with tuberculosis should be considered as special population in this pandemic. TB is an ancient disease among humans recorded as far back as seventy thousand years which was declared a global public health emergency in 1993 by the World Health Organisation (WHO). India has the highest TB burden in the world.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 261-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven A. Solomon ◽  
Claudia Nannini

Participation in the World Health Organization (WHO) is a multifaceted matter and should be understood as not only referring to the governance of WHO, but also to its scientific and technical work as well as its collaborative efforts towards advancing global public health more generally. The article is concerned, in particular, with the legal and political framework surrounding attendance and participation of states and various entities in the governing bodies of the Organization, at the global and regional level. It shows that participation in the governance of WHO is still today a domain reserved to the determination of its Member States. At the same time, solutions have been found and continued efforts are necessary to take into account geopolitical considerations and to ensure a meaningful and inclusive participation of all relevant actors in global health discussions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-24
Author(s):  
Vincent Eseoghene Efebeh

The relationship between human health and disease is neither a new concept nr a new subject. The outbreak of Covid-19 in Wuhan city of China in December, 2019 has turned out to be a global health emergency which triggers disastrous socio-economic and political crises in the infected countries. Covid-19, apart from becoming the greatest threat to global public health of the century, it has severely demobilized the global economy. It is against this backdrop that this paper examined the political economy of Covid-19 and its effects on the global economy. The paper argues that the measures taken to contain the epidemic in some countries appear as putting the nation under a state of siege. Some governments are adopting rather extreme measures - com-plete lockdown of the cities, the provinces and even the country itself, school closures, travel ban and cancellation of flights. The lack of responsible world leadership when it is most needed in terms of providing basic subsistence to the vulnerable especially in Africa has also proven problematic in the spread of the contagious disease. The paper concludes that the abuse of powers for narrow political motives exacerbate the spread of Covid-19 which brought considerable human suffering and economic disruption worldwide. The paper therefore recommends among others that the US government and the world leadership should strive to ensure effective and well-resourced public health measures to prevent infection and contagion, and implement well-targeted policies to support healthcare systems and workers, support low-income economies and protect the income of the vulnerable including social welfare payments to citizens while the monetary authorities offered loan relief to help businesses in the affected countries.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (03) ◽  
pp. 366-369
Author(s):  
Rooh Ullah ◽  
Muhammad Suleman Rana ◽  
Mehmood Qadir ◽  
Muhammad Usman ◽  
Niaz Ahmed

Pandemic of novel Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in China is now become global public health crisis. At present 87.64% of the world is infected by this deadly illness. The risk from this epidemic depends on the nature of the virus, including how well it transmits from person to person, and the complications resulting from this current illness. The novel coronavirus has killed thousands of people in China and other countries as well; its rate of mortality is increasing day by day. There is an urgent need to control the virus by developing vaccine or any other antiviral drugs to save the world from this deadly viral infection.


Author(s):  
Paddy C. Dempsey ◽  
Christine M. Friedenreich ◽  
Michael F. Leitzmann ◽  
Matthew P. Buman ◽  
Estelle Lambert ◽  
...  

Background: In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) released global guidelines on physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior, for the first time providing population-based recommendations for people living with selected chronic conditions. This article briefly presents the guidelines, related processes and evidence, and, importantly, considers how they may be used to support research, practice, and policy. Methods: A brief overview of the scope, agreed methods, selected chronic conditions (adults living with cancer, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and human immunodeficiency virus), and appraisal of systematic review evidence on PA/sedentary behavior is provided. Methods were consistent with World Health Organization protocols for developing guidelines. Results: Moderate to high certainty evidence (varying by chronic condition and outcome examined) supported that PA can reduce the risk of disease progression or premature mortality and improve physical function and quality of life in adults living with chronic conditions. Direct evidence on sedentary behavior was lacking; however, evidence extrapolated from adult populations was considered applicable, safe, and likely beneficial (low certainty due to indirectness). Conclusions: Clinical and public health professionals and policy makers should promote the World Health Organization 2020 global guidelines and develop and implement services and programs to increase PA and limit sedentary behavior in adults living with chronic conditions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghan Werbick ◽  
Imran Bari ◽  
Nino Paichadze ◽  
Adnan A. Hyder

AbstractPopulations around the world are facing an increasing burden of firearm violence on mortality and disability. While firearm violence affects every country globally, the burden is significantly higher in many low- and middle-income countries. However, despite overwhelming statistics, there is a lack of research, reporting, and prioritization of firearm violence as a global public health issue, and when attention is given it is focused on high-income countries. This paper discusses the impact of firearm violence, the factors which shape such violence, and how it fits into global public health frameworks in order to illustrate how firearm violence is a global health issue which warrants evidence-based advocacy around the world.


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