Global Health Essay: Globalization's Impact on Global Health Issues

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Assessment 2
Globalisation is both the cause and the cure of global health problems. Critically evaluate this claim
using theory, research and evidence
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Globalisation is contested on certain fronts, and it perceives the experience required in territorial
space. It would be simplistic to describe globalisation as bad or good for health (infed.org, 2018).
For instance, the spatial changes may be leading to the improved migration for people, around the
world. For the high-income nations, debate on health trends will focus on perceived threat from the
mid-income and lower-income nations acquiring epidemic infections, like Plague, Tuberculosis, HIV
AIDS, and severe acute syndrome. This essay will concentrate on understanding why the global
health is important, and how public health screening processes could stop the spread of the disease. It
will also assess the major players to tackle global health issues, and the role of UN and WHO (World
Health Organization, 2019). Further, instances will also cover examples of infectious diseases that
will highlight globalisation to curb infection (Lee, 2018). Moreover, the role of neo-liberalism
playing a critical role on global capitalism will also be analysed critically by assessing the wealth
disparities and effect of urbanisation.
According to Graham (2009), Global health is considered as the health of populations in a global
context, and it defines area of practice where priority helps to develop equity of health for all people.
In a response, Epidemiological reviews reflect broad review in global health research and provide a
review on Global health Surveillance. The review from International Health Regulations implies that
SARS and Pandemic H1N1influenza is utilised for identifying issues that needs to tackle in setting
global health surveillance systems. As many, new directions are defined in case of global
surveillance that is driving functions of public health mainly. World health Organisation (WHO) is a
critical part to coordinate multicultural response on rising infectious diseases and health threats.
Brookmeyer’s analysis highlights needs for maintaining continuity for tracking advances of
surveillance (Neshovski, 2018). It is that area where there should be ability for differentiating
changes of the HIV AIDS observation data on a annual basis. This is because of the changes in
method vs. the real changes underlying the epidemic monitoring trends in the disease. However, the
cause of the attributing disease may be a burden that is based on illness, which has been always
challenging for the global health investigations.
As opined by Neshovski (2018), global health plays a pivotal role in global security, as the world and
economies are becoming globalised that comprise of the extensive international travel to think in
terms of a global situation. The rapid recognition of rising infectious diseases helps to endorse health
abroad, while this may prevent global spread of a disease. Public Health Screening Programs in
health screening also helps to stop diseases and illness (Parker and Sommer, 2010). When screening
is conducted in racial discrimination, gender inequality, and sexual taboos, the conditions may shape
beliefs and the attitudes of health system (HIV and National Research Council (US) and Institute of
Medicine (US) Board on Children, 2019). The principle of Public Health Screening works in
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intervention and treatment for positively accepted community that have evidence to early
intervention to improve the health outcomes. While social disruption or psychological trauma is
probably to result when screening programs recognise people with a disease but fails in providing
early treatment (Lechner and Boli, 2014). Like, a Screening programs needing a Spinal tap for the
participants or pregnancy termination might not be acceptable for some groups. Where there may be
concerns about patient information, the primary motives shows tests of discrimination that is
designed to deny the civil rights.
From the theory of Social Construction of Reality proposed by Luckmann and Berger in 1960s, it
holds real world that is defined in terms of legitimised ideas and practices. It is found that extension
of H1N1 influenza virus is made internationally into cultural fearful and threatening world. Cancer
takes as the dreadful syndrome in the 20th century, as mental sickness is situated by social stage of
non-individuals in China (Knowledge, Berger and Luckmann, 2019). Cancer takes the connotation of
the terror disease in US during the 20th Century while mental sickness was stigmatised by societal
structure of the non-individuals in China. Even, medications also take on the social life through the
social marketing and informal networks. On that note Mir et al. (2014) have acclaimed that abortion
is contentious in US but not in Japan, like the brain death has become controversial in Japan but not
in US. Thus, the international programmes and problems take a distinctive implication in diverse
local settings. It would lead to tension between the local reality and global policies, which is
foundational to public health and medical practice. The corollary on social construction reality shows
a system of practitioners that comprehend values to local ethical context that influence behaviour of
their members (New England Journal of Medicine, 2018). For global health, it is found that the
implication of local ethical worlds might affect from smoking termination interventions to the HIV
AIDs treatment and prevention programmes.
Globalisation has been working as an increased force that is modifying aspects of life beyond the
financial markets. According to Steger (2017), globalisation in terms of healthcare offers certain
possibilities for goods, like rapid response to catastrophes. It could provide a concern, like huge
spread of the disease. Through the past, individuals have shared data, traded commodities and
exchange of currency across varied borders. Effect of globalisation on the health systems is
multifaceted but has positive effect on people’s health. Global transportation has enabled rapid
response to the catastrophes and epidemics, saving thousands (Healio.com, 2018). One of the
negative sides of globalisation may be the enhancement in re-merging and rising infectious diseases.
For instance, tuberculosis was eradicated in 1950s, while it remerged in 1980s. There are few ways
for looking downside of the phase of globalisation, as a 1-way to divide into non-communicable and
infectious diseases (Jacobsen, 2014). For instance, the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome)
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regarded as a transmissible disease has ability to spread rapidly. There is also vigilant response from
“WHO”, as other individual nation states too. The non-communicable diseases that are resulting
from the detrimental lifestyles are in spaces where they are useless or they are rare. Even,
Hypertension, Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity are enormous today, as incidences are increasing in
emerging nations. It is identified that avoiding obesity has to be a major priority from early stages of
country’s economic development that is accompanied by personal interventions of Cholesterol and
Hypertension.
From the theory of Political Realism, it advocates the state power, disagreement between states and
the hunt of national interest. Some scholars stands as an equilibrium of power but they have
attempted to state “world dominance” contradicted by collective confrontation from other states.
Moynagh and Worsley (2008) have opined that the hegemon state defines and maintains institutions
and international riles that advance in their own interests and maintains conflicts between states too.
However, globalisation has explained a strategy for the power between states but global health has
brought all the cognitive changes facilitates by lifestyle diseases in populations within middle and
low-income nations. Jacobsen (2014) acclaimed that spread of the health segment reform may be
witnessed as Cognitive globalisation that is transferring policies on financing and health service
provision across the world. The theory also idealises that globalisation being measured as adversative
to territorial states, they are not equal with other subordinates in a process (Plato.stanford.edu, 2018).
Thus, they fail due to the exercise of power, acquisition and distribution. Harman (2010) have
identified that globalisation works as a psychological dimension, which is not reducible to power
politics but identified communication that is shaped by nature.
There are key players associated to the intensity and scope of global health that tackles global health
issues. For example, the multilateral agencies working as a part of UN forms a forefront to tackle
global health issues, like Malaria, Tuberculosis and global fund to flight AIDs. There is also the
World Health Organization (WHO) that established after World War 2, as bilateral health firm for
uniting nations with a common goal to tackle the disease and attain better health globally. WHO
recruits experts having good expertise, and it include researchers, administrative staffs, economists
and statisticians that operate for wide range of programs (World Health Organization. 2019). For
instance, the PAHO (Pan American Health Organisation) is regarded as a regional office for the
WHO in America where employment and skills are practised with the application of present
vacancies at WHO. There is also the UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) that is considered
as a decisive player in the child health initiative. The organisation spends its non-executive budget in
promoting healthy initiatives, so that it can prioritise needs for most vulnerable children. It strives in
tackling health concerns like HIV AIDs, maternal mortality, vaccination rates and child nutrition
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(Albany.edu, 2018). There are also bilateral organisations like the USAID (United States Agency for
International Development) that is involved in the global health efforts. It strives for ending global
poverty on assisting democratic societies that realises the potential. USAID also offers funding and
supports the global health initiatives like family planning, health systems strengthening, and
neglected tropical diseases. CARE International is a NGO that plans with a task to fight for the
global poverty (Barnett et al. 2015). This places huge emphasis on empowering women, as it helps
community to escape poverty. Thus, all these organisations do play a pivotal role, and helps to deals
with the health issues in vulnerable nations.
Infectious diseases in the 21st century have been spreading rapidly, and it is caused due to fungi,
viruses and parasites. According to Neshovski (2018), the global increase of infectious diseases has
followed a equivalent course, and its emergence is seen in the epitome of globalisation. Despite
successful attempts of the globalised world to control infectious diseases, it eradicates deadly
afflictions, where 13 millions die from such diseases every year. As multinational partnerships are
contributing to availability of drugs and vaccines, there is high stage of development of the
healthcare infrastructures in emerging nations where there are better Public health education
programs. Besides, the rate of infectious diseases has been larger in poor nations in contrast to the
relative importance of the disease (Jacobsen, 2014). The estimates of infectious disease at global and
regional level may obscure specific infections in population. For an instance, tropical diseases
impose huge burden on poor population, as they occur in certain climates, making a small
contribution to overall infectious disease burden. Lee (2018) have acclaimed that certain kind of
illness having an infectious component, as liver cancer and neurological diseases is not considered a
part of infectious disease burden. There are also estimates of future burden of infectious diseases that
falls into predictions of individual disease and calculations of the general impact of infectious disease
in future. Further, shifts in political and economic values are leading to transforming resources for
transmittable disease control in mid-income and low-income countries.
An instance can be provided where pathogens are sensitive to humans. The key reason for this is that
their capability for surviving depends on availability of the nutritional and climatic conditions. The
other is the local condition facilitating pathogen’s spread to susceptible host. From Our World in
Data (2018), it means that the environment has to support survival of humans first, or the secondary
vector contains natural niche within the free-living pathogen to flourish. It is identifiable that their
needs sufficient contact with humans with pathogen, either from natural environment or other
animals. As pathogens thrive in wet and warm climates whereas others in drier and colder regions.
Some pathogens even cause diseases while others in a local environment that is favourable for
propagation. The later is true for vector-borne diseases, as the local environment requires
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multiplication and survival of offending pathogen. From the argument of Harman (2010), to stop
human infection, interrupting transmission of infectious agent eliminates sites where vectors or
pathogens proliferate. This may also increase the immunity of humans to pathogens with vaccination
programmes. However, the established infections could be treated by supervising chemotherapy to
kill the pathogens. The use of medical treatment or surgery can also remove continued infection
source, like abscess (Plato.stanford.edu. 2018). It offers supportive treatment for enhancing person’s
capability for destroying pathogen against the infectious agent.
However, the assessment of the health risks related to globalisation has to accommodate with certain
uncertainty. It may not mean no such conclusions will be drawn to influence global process in past or
future disease level (Steger, 2017). Nonetheless, the supportive evidence related to benefits of
globalisation has not deterred proponents of the unregulated economic globalisation. It is that phase
where responding to some situations required precautionary standard. Where there are severe threats
for irreversible spoil, lack of technical conviction may not be used for delaying the cost-efficient
measures. With the global climatic change, there are also diseases like Schistosomiasis that have
enlarged in the arid temperate regions, from development of the irrigation projects where snail
intermediate. Even, the rise of global warming has been increasing the stage of water scarcity in
undeveloped areas, where it leads to large demand for irrigation structures. It may potentiate threat of
schistosomiasis largely.
In terms of transferable disease, there has been alliance between migration and the disease. The use
of quarantine and Border Health Medicine Practices was developed to attempt to control epidemic
infections. Over the last 4 decades, the extent of migration has undergone key shifts, and this has
altered nature of infectious diseases hugely. However, the risk of infectious disease attainment in
source nations could manifest nomad populations, where they move to a new destination. Even, the
shift in infectious disease epidemiology is an outcome of disparity for public health. Since these
disparities in disease control programs continues to increase, the migration of the infectious disease
in low occurrence regions including Europe, Australia and North America will increase heavily
(Neshovski, 2018). For example, Malaria that is diagnosed in returning tourists and visitors from
zones of the endemicity to regions of nonendemicity could be correlated to returning migrants or
transmission zones of endemicity. With the globalisation, there are vaccine-preventions that could
curb these diseases, and form proper immunisation to work on disease control. Thus, mobile
populations are associated to these outbreaks of vaccine-avoidable disease with local spread to
urbanized world. Some examples include the Hepatitis A & B, Polio, Diptheria, Rubella, Measles
and mumps that can be eradicated.
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Globalisation has also delivered health benefits, which enables people for surviving healthier but it
also leads to escalating threats and Ebola is such an instance. Ironically, the disease has huge impact,
as seen from the Outbreak of Ebola killing thousands. As per WHO, Ebola infection rates exceeded
to 13,000 deaths. As no vaccine exists, Ebola has the incubation period where individuals can escape
isolation and detection before symptoms are revealed. Like the positive force, globalisation also sees
opposite and equal forces (Goldin and Goldin, 2018). It is revealed that globalisation and health risk
has put key resources in huge demand, but budgetary pressures scarcer. In the era of austerity, WHO
and regional council are crucial for control of pandemics, starved by funds. The Ebola outbreak also
encouraged the level of preparedness against spread of future infectious diseases, which is rising
rapidly with population density. With globalisation, it can be associated that Ebola is an example
where disruption can go global but this will have economic effect to health considerations. Thus, the
economic cost of the infectious diseases in particular the HIV and Malaria were significant, and they
were increasing with huge tolls on profitability, and productivity to be reflected in increasing GDP
losses. The infectious disease also accounted with 41% of the global disease burden that is measured
as DALYS (Disability-Adjusted Life Years) gauging effect of disabilities and deaths.
From the World Bank estimates, it is found that the high-income nations are suffering from extreme
poverty. It was revealed that poverty rate in US was seen as 13.5% during 2015, and it was due to the
differences caused between World Bank methodologies and US. Nonetheless, the case of monetary
welfare has been measured as a threshold to describe deprivation (Our World in Data, 2018). To be
precise, the allowances are made for composition for families, for example, the poverty line could be
equal to $16.5% person/day for 2 Children and 2 Adults. While it is seen, that relative poverty is
estimated by World Bank for the low-income nations. The result is that Europe has a low poverty, as
the country has rich people while Asian nations like India and African countries are still on the edge
of poverty. One of the reasons that create health inequalities between poor and rich is because of the
breakeven of social barriers (Plummer, 2010). This is where the workers needs to be provided voice
in their firms, and proving money to poor could prove to be a good initiative. Neoliberalism does
play a role, as it includes activities to enhance privatisation of public services to deregulate capital, or
de-emphasize social public programmes (Alcock and Craig, 2009). Neoliberalism works on the key
debates, as the pathways are linked with the neoliberal practices and policies with the poor outcomes
on health. Moreover, global capitalism has embodied the formal agenda causing economic inequality
among the poor. Inequality of wealth is found in the capitalistic societies, as it results from the
inheritance (Evonomics, 2017). To an extent, the competitive source of inequality is seen from the
allotment of wealth and income, and the markets have led to inequality tremendously.
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It could be concluded from the essay that as overall health capacity has increased substantially but in
poor nations, there has been availability of health care, ranging from postnatal care to basic pharma
to the costly multidrug therapies. Global organisations such as World Bank and WHO in developed
nations are continuing to play a key role to strengthen national surveillance response system for the
infectious diseases. The essay also concludes how emergence of the infectious disease via the rapid
globalisation is interconnecting the world. It makes a phase where the key players are tackling on the
global health issues, on how UN and WHO would be working to curb these diseases with mitigation.
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