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Healthcare Mission in the 21^st Century

Big global health issues in 2009

This is a small selection of problems that InterHealth’s client agencies are trying to tackle, and which CHGN and Affirm are increasingly involved with.

1. Lack of health workers
   WHO estimates that the world is short of 4 million qualified health workers, but much can be done to train community health workers who can provide basic services. 
    

2. Infectious illnesses
   Diarrhoea, pneumonia, malnutrition, and malaria continue to kill large numbers of children. Women in the poorest parts of Asia and Africa are 200 times more likely to die in childbirth than those in developed countries.
    
3. HIV
   33.5 million people are living with HIV. Many of these have little care, support, treatment or hope.
    
4. Non- communicable illnesses
   “ Western” diets and lifestyles, are leading to obesity, hypertension, diabetes, heart attacks and strokes, even in poor communities.
    
5. Mental illness and addictions
   Alcohol, drugs and tobacco, cause enormous loss of life and well-being. It is estimated that from the year 2010 one million people per year in India alone will die from tobacco related illnesses.
    
6. Neglected tropical diseases
   Health experts have currently targeted seven widespread illnesses, including schistosomiasis and trachoma which cause death and disability. Prevention and cure is possible for most of these given political will.
    
7. Increasing water shortage
   Larger areas are likely to experience drought with associated malnutrition, poverty and civil conflict.
    
8. Broken health systems
   In many parts of the world they have collapsed, and need major and sustained fixing.
    
9. Urbanization
   This is graphically described in a quote from a recent WHO title.

“Rapidly urbanizing societies are being flooded with armies of unemployed, uneducated and often orphaned youth. Many of these young people enter the world of militias, drug trafficking, gang warfare and sex work; these populations are a fertile breeding ground for disease”.

E Mednieata in Restoring Hope: Decent Care in the Midst of HIV/AIDS T Karpf WHO 2008.