Global and Environmental Health Issues

This article discusses the influence of climate change on vector and host abundance, local prevalence of disease-causing parasites and pathogens, human population behavior and disease resilience, and foreign policy on public health issues and the agencies involved.

1Running head: GLOBAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
Global and Environmental Health Issues
Student’s Name
Institution

2GLOBAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
Global and Environmental Health Issues
Influence of climate change on vector and host abundance
When rainfall increases due to climate change, it leads to flooding which provides
more feasible areas for the breeding of vectors. When there is flooding, an area
experience cases of stagnant water which provides a suitable breeding ground for
vectors such as mosquitoes leading to an abundance of hosts and vectors. For
example, after the heavy flooding in Louisiana in August 2016, the breeding sites for
the Aedes mosquito were increased, and the officials were prepared for the outbreak
of the Zika and West Nile viruses. ("Climate Risk and Spread of Vector-Borne
Diseases", 2018)
Increased humidity could also lead to eggs hatching faster since hatching is faster
in hotter climates thereby leading to an abundance of both host and vector within a
short period.
Influence of climate change on local prevalence of disease-causing parasites and
pathogens
Insects are dependent on external temperature to survive since they cannot
regulate their body temperature. Therefore changes in the global temperature
significantly influence the geographical range of the vectors and pathogens. ("Climate
Risk and Spread of Vector-Borne Diseases", 2018)
Increase in temperature may lengthen the season of the vector in a certain
geographical area and may also increase the range of the geographical area of the
vector. For instance, as the temperatures rise in the equatorial areas, warm- weather
vectors such as mosquitoes can move into higher altitudes. In some areas in the
United States, the season of the mosquitoes carrying the Zika Virus is lengthening due
to warming. (“Climate Risk and Spread of Vector-Borne Diseases”, 2018)

3GLOBAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
Influence of climate change on human population behaviour and disease resilience
People migrate due to several reasons such as climate change. When crowds
migrate, they are exposed to viruses to which they are not immune.. In the course of
migration, people take diseases to urban centres and new regions. In the event of a
crowd migrating, they cause overcrowding in already crowded areas. Populations
carrying infectious diseases easily spread the infections faster in congested areas
( "Climate Risk and Spread of Vector-Borne Diseases", 2018).
Influence of foreign policy on public health issues and the agencies involved.
Foreign policies such as policies dealing with trade, diplomacy and security have
significantly influenced public health in several ways including;
1) Emergence and re-emergence of communicable diseases
Increase in international travel has led to spread of infections such as HIV/AIDS,
malaria, tuberculosis, and cholera to new areas. Additionally, rising levels of food
handling processes, and sales worldwide have led to complexity in controlling
infections.For instance, in the European Union, the free movement of goods has led to
difficulties by governments to protect citizens from communicable infections. The
constitution of the global market has equally led to escalated economic competition
forcing the governments to reduce expenditure such as the funding of public health
leading to unpreparedness in handling emerging infections (Scolnik & Scolnik, 2012).
The World Health Organization has affirmed that emerging infections
constitute a global threat and needs a unified global response. The diseases can
develop anywhere and spread faster through trade and travel hence a global risk.
2) Initiation of major health diplomatic policies
Health diplomacy has embraced both international health agreements and efforts
to promote health interventions supporting the objectives of foreign policy. World

4GLOBAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
Health Organization plays a crucial role in public health diplomacy. For example, the
World Health Assembly 2003, endorsed the Framework Convention on Tobacco
Control (FCTC). Investigations linked smoking to lung cancer and negative economic
impact (World Health Organization., 2013). The World Health Organization also
came up with interventions that minimize tobacco consumption and formed a
partnership with nongovernmental organizations called the Framework Convention
Alliance.
According to Kickbusk (2013), other policies enacted include the Global Fund to
Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Roll Back Malaria campaign, and Stop TB
Partnership.The United Nations Millennium Development Goals, Global Health
Security Initiative, Revision of the World Health Organization’s International Health
Regulations, and the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief are
also among other policies enacted. (Kickbusk, 2013).
3) The risk of bio-terrorism and biological weapons
Increasing knowledge of the present biological weapons programs and the rise of
non-state terrorist actors has led to bio-terrorism being a severe threat to national
security. Bio-terrorism and biological weapons have been closely studied because of
the release of the anthrax virus delivered through a mail in the United States in 2001.
The Toxin Weapons Convention, which was enacted in 1975, banned the usage
of these weapon systems, and many countries subscribed to the treaty. Unfortunately,
several states did not respect the agreement. For example, the Soviet Union continued
to increase its program of biological weapons. Failure to respect the treaty impelled
the world to strengthen the Weapons Convention (Krutzsch & Herbach, 2014). The
United Nations Special Commission made great strides in identifying and destroying
facilities for producing biological weapons after the gulf war (Ryan & Glarum, 2011).

5GLOBAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
To counter the threats of biological weapons and bio-terrorism, international
measures have been put in place. According to Ryan and Glarum (2011), United
States agencies such as the Department of Defence Cooperative Threat Reduction
Program, and the International Science and Technology Centre in Moscow have been
put in place to counter bio-terrorism risks. . In the United States, special teams that
can react to a suspected biological attack have been put in place. Enough antibiotics
and vaccines have also been put in place in preparation for any bioterrorism (Ryan &
Glarum, 2011).

6GLOBAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
References
Climate Risk and Spread of Vector-Borne Diseases. (2018). Climate Nexus. Retrieved
27 March 2018, from https://climatenexus.org/climate-issues/health/climate-
change-and-vector-borne-diseases
Kickbusch, I. (2013). Global health diplomacy. New York: Springer.
Krutzsch, W., & Herbach, J. (2014). The Chemical Weapons Convention. Oxford
[u.a.]: Oxford Univ. Press.
Ryan, J., & Glarum, J. (2011). Biosecurity and Bioterrorism. Burlington: Elsevier
Science.
Skolnik, R., & Skolnik, R. (2012). Global health 101. Burlington, Mass.: Jones &
Bartlett Learning.
World Health Organization. (2013). WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco
Control: Guidelines for Implementation of Article 5.3 Articles 8 to 14. World
Health Organization.