Global and Environmental Health Issues

This document discusses global and environmental health issues, focusing on the key components that determine the occurrence of vector-borne diseases. It explores how climate change influences these components and increases the rate of vector-borne diseases. Additionally, it examines the impact of foreign policy on public health and the management of public health hazards. The document provides examples and explanations of how foreign policy can influence public health issues and the agencies involved. Overall, it highlights the importance of addressing global and environmental health issues for the well-being of individuals and communities.

Global and environmental health issues
GLOBAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
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Global and environmental health issues
GLOBAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
Question 1
Which are the three key components that determine the occurrence of vector-borne
diseases?
a) Vector and host abundance, local prevalence of disease-causing parasites and
pathogens and human population behavior and disease resilience
Question 2
In your own words, explain how climate change influences these three components to
increase the rate of vector-borne disease.
Climate change comes with new risks to both human and animals by increasing the
human and animal exposure to vector-borne diseases (VBD), particularly in the US. Some of the
vectors include flies, ticks and mosquitoes (Weaver, Charlier, Vasilakis & Lecuit, 2018). Some
factors like rising global temperatures would prolong the season and increase range of disease
carrying in a geographical area (Beard et al., 2016). Increased warm temperatures increase the
mosquitoes and other warm-weather vectors which most likely moves to high altitude areas and
new regions far from the equator. For instance, the season for Zika-carrying mosquitoes
lengthened due to the extended warm season in some areas of the United States (Beard et al.,
2016).
According to world health organization vector borne diseases account for 17% of
infectious diseases combined resulting to over 700, 000 deaths every year (World Health
Organization., 2017). Over 40, 000 deaths among this come from malaria infection with most
aged below 5 years. With all these risks the infections can however be prevented if there is

Global and environmental health issues
informed protective measures (World Health Organization., 2017). Over 3.9 billion people
across 128 countries are vulnerable for dengue with an estimation of 98 million every year.
The other climatic change such as humility, flooding and increased rains creates
favorable environment for vector breeding occurring quickly as eggs hatch quickly in a warmer
climate. After the August 2016, massive flooding event in Louisiana in led to the increased risk
for West Nile virus and Zika infections increased the habitats of breeding for Aedes mosquitoes
(Wu, Lu, Zhou, Chen & Xu, 2016). Insect vectors can take advantage of climate change like
flooding, prolonged rainfall, or warm weather due to their several physical characteristics. Some
of these characteristics include depending on external body warmth to survive as opposed to
depending on their own body temperatures for survival (Vonesch et al., 2016). Rising
temperatures may favour their survival, which increases risks to the new human population
(Parham et al., 2015). Temperature is also critical during pathogens incubation, which takes an
even shorter period. Water and humidity provide favourable environment for vector breeding
(Wu, Lu, Zhou, Chen & Xu, 2016). Areas with high humidity and water have the highest eggs
hatching which multiplies the survival of the vectors, which in turn is dangerous to humans.
Question 3
The ozone layer protects the earth from excessive:
b) Ultraviolet radiation
Question 4
Globalization has affected food around the globe in several different ways. Which of the
following is not one of the food-related impacts of globalization that we explored in Module 2?
a) Contaminated food due to differing standards and production practice
Question 5

Global and environmental health issues
Foreign policy can have a profound effect on public health and the management of public
health hazards. In your own words explain three ways in which foreign policy can influence
public health issues and any agencies involved; you can use examples to demonstrate your
points.
Health as security
There is national security due to border protections. The border protection against the
high prevalence of infectious diseases like drug-resistant diseases or influenza pandemics strains
through migrations, citizen returning from the surgical procedure provided in foreign countries
known as medical tourism or through travelling. Economically LMIC countries can be
suppressed by disease burden resulting in stagnant growth and disposable income (Kanter, Walls,
Tak, Roberts & Waage, 2015). There is also the impact on human security. This include in cases
where foreign policy has the role of ensuring the capacities such as the health of every country in
the world and its population especially countries with most vulnerable circumstances (Kanter et
al., 2015). Intergovernmental cooperation increases global health security as well as national
security (Hønneland, 2017). Business-wise, it is argued that security issues are not prominent as
it rests in some facts that low-income countries may remain unchecked of diseases, which could
result to adverse economic effects, which can fuel domestic/regional disagreement (Hønneland,
2017). In return, this can result in peacekeeping costs or interventions through military
reconstruction, which can lead to loss of trade or other investment economic related
opportunities in countries burdened by the disease.
Health as a development
Foreign policies improve the health of the recipient countries, which increases more
significant health growth, and productivity, which contributes to global economic progress.

Global and environmental health issues
Health gains, on the other hand, can result in recipient countries to perform economically and
create donor countries trade-related financial benefits (Hønneland, 2017). If health increases,
there is a more significant decrease in security threats to donor countries.this is due to the fact
that disease-based risks of conflicts will be reduced within the recipient countries (Zacher, 2016).
Health as development is the most encountered health care frame. Long-standing coherence
concern exists on the development frame itself.
Health increases global public goods
Foreign policy ensures there is equality in goods accessibility by all by which use by one
does not result in precluding another using them. The power of these universal public goods is
based on concept of economy providing a bridge of debate for environment in which people
work, their well-being, and other universal benefit that accrue from cooperation with ministries
of foreign affairs treasury of finance ministries (Kickbusch, 2011). National government whys
should finance such goods are provided in the extensive literature explaining the concept of
economic rationale. When there is intergovernmental and global governance arrangement for
financing and managing public goods will not only improvement on national health security but
also boost economic growth (Moon, Røttingen & Frenk, 2017, Zacher, 2016). It should,
however, be noted that all economists do not agree that health is a universal benefit as but
believe that is is personal benefit (Kickbusch, 2011). Global public goods are a well-advanced
significant health arrangement. It assumes that goods across borders are accessible to all and can
be utilized by everyone without precluding the other.

Global and environmental health issues
References
Beard, C. B., Eisen, R. J., Barker, C. M., Garofalo, J. F., Hahn, M., Hayden, M., ... & Schramm,
P. J. (2016). Ch. 5: Vectorborne Diseases (pp. 129-156). US Global Change Research
Program, Washington, DC.
Hønneland, G. (2017). Health as international politics: combating communicable diseases in the Baltic
sea region. Routledge.
Kanter, R., Walls, H. L., Tak, M., Roberts, F., & Waage, J. (2015). A conceptual framework for
understanding the impacts of agriculture and food system policies on nutrition and
health. Food Kickbusch, I. (2011). Global health diplomacy: how foreign policy can
influence health. bmj, 342, d3154. security, 7(4), 767-777.
Moon, S., Røttingen, J. A., & Frenk, J. (2017). Global public goods for health: weaknesses and
opportunities in the global health system. Health Economics, Policy and Law, 12(2), 195-205.
Parham, P. E., Waldock, J., Christophides, G. K., Hemming, D., Agusto, F., Evans, K. J., ... &
Lenhart, S. (2015). Climate, environmental and socio-economic change: weighing up the
balance in vector-borne disease transmission. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal
Society B: Biological Sciences, 370(1665), 20130551.
Vonesch, N., D’Ovidio, M. C., Melis, P., Remoli, M. E., grazia Ciufolini, M., & Tomao, P.
(2016). Climate change, vector-borne diseases and working population. Annali
dell'Istituto superiore di sanita, 52(3), 397-405.
Weaver, S. C., Charlier, C., Vasilakis, N., & Lecuit, M. (2018). Zika, chikungunya, and other
emerging vector-borne viral diseases. Annual review of medicine, 69, 395-408.
World Health Organization. (2017). Vector control (No. SEA/RC70/10). World Health
Organization. Regional Office for South-East Asia.

Global and environmental health issues
Wu, X., Lu, Y., Zhou, S., Chen, L., & Xu, B. (2016). Impact of climate change on human
infectious diseases: Empirical evidence and human adaptation. Environment
international, 86, 14-23.
Zacher, M. W. (2016). The transformation in global health collaboration since the 1990s. In Governing
Global Health (pp. 31-44). Routledge.