Healthcare: Social, Political, Environmental Issues Report

This report delves into the critical social, political, and environmental issues impacting international healthcare, focusing on the role of the World Health Organization (WHO). It defines health as a state of complete well-being, emphasizing its connection to social determinants like income distribution and political stability. The report highlights WHO's mission, including its response to communicable diseases, its promotion of health through various programs, and its efforts to address non-communicable diseases. It underscores the importance of WHO's initiatives in setting standards, providing technical support, and shaping research agendas to improve global health outcomes. The conclusion stresses the need for effective healthcare services to maintain a healthy environment, especially in the face of emerging health challenges. The report references various academic sources to support its findings.

Social, political and
environmental issues in
international healthcare

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
World health organisation's 1948 definition of health ...............................................................1
Linkage of WHO to the social determinants of health................................................................2
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Offering proper health care is one of the main issues at global level in present scenario as
there is no corporation which is providing appropriate services to civilians of United Kingdom.
Different issues such as social, political and environmental are existing in the world which is
needed to be reduced (Gray, Coates and Hetherington, 2012). The present report is based on the
World Health Organisations. In this project, concept of health has been described and its relation
with social determinants is also highlighted.
World health organisation's 1948 definition of health
World Health Organisation (WHO) is a special administrative body of United Nations
that is concerned with the global public health. It was set up in the year 1948 on 7th April whose
headquarter is situated in Geneva, Switzerland. It is a member of the United Nations
Development Group. Its precursor or forerunner named as the Health Organisation was an
association of League of Nations. World Health Organisation has given some principles of health
which are stated as below:
 According to this, health is nothing but a state of overall physical, social and mental
wellness. It is not merely the absence of disease or frailty.
 The pleasure of highest possible standard of health is considered as one of the
fundamental rights of every citizen. Thus, there should be no discrimination on the basis
of religion, colour, race, gender, social or economic condition and political belief.
 The health of all human beings is fundamental to the achievement of security and peace.
It is relying on the fullest co – operation of individuals and states.
 The attainment of any state in protection and promotion of welfare is of value to all.
 Healthy improvement of the child is of primary importance (World Health Organization,
2013). The capability to survive harmoniously in a dynamic entire environment is
necessary to such development.
 Non-equivalent development in different nations regarding encouragement of health and
control of diseases, particularly communicable diseases, is a communal danger.
 Healthy growth of children is one of the elementary importance and so, it is necessary
for the parents to take care of their kids in such a dynamic environmental condition.
They need to consult their health care professionals in the case of any requirement.
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(Source : WHO, 2017)
Linkage of WHO to the social determinants of health
The societal determiner of health is associated with the social and economic conditions
and its distribution among the people that impacts a person or whole group differences in context
to status of health. They are promoting factors of wellness that is found in individual's working
and living conditions like dispersion of income, revenue, power and influence instead of one's
risk factors such as behavioural or genetic-al risk factors; that may effect the vulnerability to
disease or any injury. As World Health Organisation provides all the facilities related with well
being to civilians of UK, its existence is totally associated with social factors (Epstein and
Buhovac, 2014). Any health related issues has to be solved by them. It is their duty to take care
of all the people if they are suffering from any kind of disease. According to WHO, the unlike
segmentation of health damaging experiences is not in any sense an earthy phenomena but it is
the consequence of toxic combination of poor cultural plan of actions, unequal economic set up
and bad politics. This agency recommended that the societal determinants of health involves :
 Unemployment
 Tension
 Unhygienic Food
 Addiction to drugs, alcohol and smoke
 Social activity
 Transportation
There is a close relation of WHO to the social determinative factor of health. This can be
understand by an example. If there is drastic spreading of a communicable disease in UK and
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Illustration 1: WHO

every one is getting ill, then this is the responsibility of members of World Health Organisation
to take action as soon as possible so that they can protect people from this disaster. They can
provide effective vaccination to citizens and ensure their well being. At the same time, they can
offer best treatment to those people who are affected by that disease. Some of the services
offered by WHO are listed below :
 They provides leadership on matters vital to wellness and are engaged in partnership so
they can take joint action is whenever required.
 They set criterion and regulations and also create its awareness and monitor their
execution (Chongsuvivatwong and et. al., 2011).
 Also provides technical support, build sustainable institutionalized capacity and handle
catalysing change.
 They shape the agenda of research and stimulate the generation, dissemination and
translation of significant knowledge.
 They also articulate ethical and information based policy choices.
 It is their primary duty to monitor situation regarding health and assess health trends
effectively.
 In addition to those all, WHO has achieved extraordinary progress in its audacious reform
agenda over previous decade. Innovative leadership, systems and managerial structures
have resulted in enhanced effectiveness, responsiveness, accountability and efficiency.
 They are being promoting better health via life course programs. They encourage people
to take part in large number in this program as they want to reform their lives.
 WHO is working is different nations for increasing and sustaining access to prevention,
care and treatment for communicable diseases like HIV, malaria, tuberculosis. They wish
to minimise vaccine preventable diseases (World Health Organization, 2013).
 Apart from this they are also concentrating on non communicable diseases also such as
cancer, heart related diseases, chronic lung disease together with injuries and violence.
Professionals are doing research on such diseases and trying to find out proper medicine
or treatment in order to reduce the death rate that occurs from such things only.
CONCLUSION
From the above based report, it can be concluded that health issues now become
important factor as so many diseases are spreading day on day in UK. Large number of young
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section in country is facing problems regrading their well being. So, it is the first and foremost
duty of WHO to provide essential health services to them in order to maintain a peaceful and
healthy environment.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Chongsuvivatwong, V. and et. al., 2011. Health and health-care systems in southeast Asia:
diversity and transitions. The Lancet, 377(9763), pp.429-437.
Epstein, M. J. and Buhovac, A .R., 2014. Making sustainability work: Best practices in
managing and measuring corporate social, environmental, and economic impacts.
Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Gray, M., Coates, J. and Hetherington, T. eds., 2012. Environmental social work. Routledge.
World Health Organization, 2013. WHO expert consultation on rabies: second report (No. 982).
World Health Organization.
World Health Organization, 2013. WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2013: enforcing
bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. World Health Organization.
Online
WHO. 2017. [Online]. Available through : <http://medicopress.media/2017/07/11/w-h-o-to-
establish-a-medical-emergency-hub-in-kenya/>.
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