Global Healthcare

Global health is a research field at the intersection of medical and social science disciplines.  Global health transcends the perspectives and concerns of individual nations. In global health, problems that transcend national borders or have a global political and economic impact, are often emphasized. It has been defined as 'the area of study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people reducing disparities. One of the greatest accomplishments of the international and global health communities since then was the eradication of smallpox. The last naturally occurring case of the infection was recorded in 1977.  The global agenda abruptly changed in 1979 to an alternative strategy deemed “Selective Primary Health Care”. Major reductions in the burden of malaria have been achieved by improved prevention and treatment. Tuberculosis, which has social and environmental determinants   now show emergence of multiple antibiotic-resistant strains. hundreds of millions of people are developing drug-resistant TB, most of them poor. An economic perspective emphasizes the cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit approaches for both individual and population health allocation. There are many perspectives and approaches to take when it comes to issues of global health.  A political approach emphasizes economic considerations applied to global health (cost/benefit analysis). The journalist, Laurie Garrett suggests that conflicts in approach to solutions  hinder  funding and philanthropic efforts to properly control disease.

There are dangers to having divergent perspectives  as exemplified by Andrew Natsios of USAID, when he proclaimed that antiretrovirals should not be distributed to HIV-stricken Africa due to the occupants lacking a concept of time and clocks to properly facilitate the proper sequence of drug consumption.