The Big Sandwich of Global Health

Poverty Facts & Stats

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 16:58:50 -0700

“Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen.”- State of the World

I don’t know about you, but this fact alone sent shivers down my spine.

What it takes to be a vaccine hero

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 16:44:18 -0700

What it takes to be a vaccine hero:

“Resourceful, brave, committed — and perhaps a little addicted — that’s the kind of person it takes to ensure that vaccines reach children in the poorest countries of the world. People like Amani Abdelmoniem Mustafa, the manager of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) for one of the largest countries in Africa — Sudan.”

Knowing that there are many unsung heroes fighting to end premature deaths and infant mortality puts my mind at ease.

In January 2011, the fate of Sudan will be determined after...

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 13:39:33 -0800

In January 2011, the fate of Sudan will be determined after years of civil war. The country will either reunite or split in two. Most people are in dire need of things we consider basic necessities: food, water, shelter, medicine. This video gives you a snapshot of the people of Sudan, and how they are “too used to suffering”.

Help the environment, help your health.

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 22:22:00 -0800

Adam Smith’s principle of “the Invisible Hand” extends much further than economics.First, it deems humans as self-centered, gratification seeking beings. While we may want to do good for others, we are much more motivated by the personal rewards that encompass a good deed. Anyone who has been involved with organizations know how difficult it is at times, to get someone to listen to you let alone follow your lead. One must learn how to manipulate the other person’s incentives to serve one’s objectives.

For example, talks of climate changes affecting our environment seems to loom at every corner reminding all of us in a first world country to do our due diligence to conserve. Sure, we can occasionally recycle, use public transportation, or even unplug unused electronics. How many of us actually adopt these “green” habits? Does seeing polar bears on melting ice cause one to stop driving his gas guzzler? Do images of a family without water cause one to turn off the faucet when she is brushing her teeth? It’s possible but more often than not, we are too set in our ways of convenience. These misfortunes happen to someone else , far away.

The National Health Institution, the World Health Organization, the Center for Disease Control, the International Panel for Disease Control (just to name a few) all published articles and fact sheets that conclude at one thing: the drastic changes to the environment caused by excess human consumption have and will continue to harm human beings especially the most vulnerable - the impoverished, young, and old.

The NIH states that “It is now established that climate changes are occurring at an increasingly rapid rate. These changes require active monitoring and coordinated responses in all aspects of their effects on human society, including health effects.” Some of the health effects include:

Increase in incidences of
cardiovascular and pulmonary illness caused by increased CO2 concentrations in the ozone.
Increase in food and waterborne pathogens under changing climate and environmental conditions.
Changes in water supplies that may lead to flooding or droughts, affecting crops yield and poverty levels.
Changes to allergic diseases

The question of sustainability is the one our generation must face directly. So why not use our own health as an incentive?

Bottom line, the climate is changing drastically as a result of our wasteful behaviors. If witnessing natural disasters and your first snow storm in southern California wasn’t enough to encourage one to adopt environmental friendly habits, then take your own health into consideration. Or even better, the health of your younger siblings, your grandparents, or your friend who has major seasonal allergies.

This was meant for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, but some...

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 22:34:00 -0800

This was meant for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, but some how it goes beyond that. I feel that this song captures the spirit of unity, of hope, and of some greater victories than can only be won when people work together. Inspiring indeed!

Global Health Awareness 2010

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 22:31:30 -0800

Global Health Awareness 2010:

Get excited for GHAW 2011!

Ten Facts on Neglected Tropical Diseases

Sun, 14 Nov 2010 23:40:00 -0800

Ten Facts on Neglected Tropical Diseases:

Did you know that Neglected Tropical Diseases affect more than 1 billion people world-wide, especially the impoverished and those marginalized in their society ? Did you also know that it costs as little as 2 cents to provide medicine to victims of NTD’s? Something to think about…

The Importance of Political Analysis in Health Reform

Sun, 14 Nov 2010 23:25:09 -0800

The Importance of Political Analysis in Health Reform:

Published under the Kuwait Health Initiation Journal Club, the article is an example of how politics and health are indistinguishably intertwined. This provides a quick summary of strategies and issues to regard when one plans to initiate any form of health reform.

"Many people, most of them in tropical countries of the Third World, die of preventable, curable..."

Sun, 14 Nov 2010 23:07:27 -0800

“Many people, most of them in tropical countries of the Third World, die of preventable, curable diseases.… Malaria, tuberculosis, acute lower-respiratory infections—in 1998, these claimed 6.1 million lives. People died because the drugs to treat those illnesses are nonexistent or are no longer effective. They died because it doesn’t pay to keep them alive.”

- Ken Silverstein, Millions for Viagra. Pennies for Diseases of the Poor, The Nation, July 19, 1999

Global Health 101: Millennium Development Goals

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:53:46 -0700

Global Health 101: Millennium Development Goals:

I think the beauty of tackling the issues of global health is that most of them are intertwined with one another. For instance, if we decrease the inequality between men and women, we indirectly improve conditions for mothers. Healthy mothers give birth to healthier babies, who have a larger chance of survival, ultimately lowering infant mortality rate. While the goals are noble and pragmatic in nature, there hasn’t been substantial progress in realizing the goals. So what is it that is keeping us from achieving these goals?

Senior Community Service Employment Program

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 10:01:31 -0700

Senior Community Service Employment Program:

Mental health plays a huge part in a person’s overall well being. SCSE is a program that takes into consideration that people need jobs in order to sustain themselves and feel “worthwhile”. It helps mature adults who have fallen and enable them to keep going. Check it out!

5 toxics that are everywhere

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 01:07:17 -0700

5 toxics that are everywhere:

Protecting unborn fetuses while being greener… what a deal!

How to Live Longer and Healthier

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 00:41:12 -0700

How to Live Longer and Healthier:

A man whose doctors diagnosed him with abdominal cancer, outlived all his doctors by forty years! What is his secret and those in his area? See for yourself the capacity of human longevity.

Goals of Global Health being realized!

Sun, 06 Jun 2010 20:21:48 -0700

Goals of Global Health being realized!

Starved for Attention

Sun, 06 Jun 2010 17:07:00 -0700

">Starved for Attention:

Doctors Without Borders or internationally known as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) launched their new campaign on the war on malnutrition. Check out the realities behind this pandemic, who it affects, and the preventable causes.

Did you know that the major providers of aid to underdeveloped countries such as the US, give infant cereals that do not meet the nutritional requirement in their own countries? The double standard needs to stop if we are to see real changes to ending malnutrition.

What's Keeping Primary Physicians So Busy?

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:38:18 -0700

What's Keeping Primary Physicians So Busy?:

With the healthcare management system on edge, reform is a must. While the demand for primary care is high and will continue to be so, many young doctors are opting out of the field. A study was performed to see what was keeping primary physicians so busy and why many deem the area as futile. Check it out! What should we do?

"The biggest enemy of health in the developing world is poverty."

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:12:21 -0700

“The biggest enemy of health in the developing world is poverty.”

- Kofi Annan

Global financial crisis and the health of older people

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:08:16 -0700

Global financial crisis and the health of older people:

A changing social infrastructure with inadequate compensation leading to an economic crisis!