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The world is facing multiple health problems. These range from epidemics of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and diphtheria, to growing information about drug-resistant pathogens, increasing rates of obesity and physical inactivity. the health effects of environmental pollution and climate change; and multiple humanitarian crises. Here are 10 of the many issues that will require the attention of the World Health Organization (WHO) and its health partners in 2019.
Atmospheric pollution and climate change
Microscopic pollutants in the air can enter the respiratory and circulatory systems, damaging the lungs, heart and brain and resulting in the death of 7 million people each year, prematurely as a result of diseases such as cancer, stroke, heart and lung disease. About 90% of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, where emissions from industry, transportation and agriculture are important, as well as cooking stoves and dirty fuels.
Noncommunicable diseases
Noncommunicable diseases, such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease, are collectively responsible for more than 70% of deaths worldwide, or 41 million people. The increase of these diseases is due to five major risk factors: smoking, physical inactivity, the harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets and air pollution.
Global flu pandemic
The world will face another flu pandemic – the only thing we do not know is when it's going to hit and how bad it will be. Global defenses are only as effective as the weakest link in the health crisis preparedness and response system of any country.
Fragile and vulnerable settings
More than 1.6 billion people live in areas where protracted crises (due to a combination of problems such as drought, famine, conflict and displacement) and poor health services leave people without access to basic care. Fragile environments exist in almost every region of the world and half of the key goals of the Sustainable Development Goals, including maternal and child health, have not yet been achieved.
Antimicrobial resistance
Antimicrobial resistance – the ability of bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi to resist drugs – threatens to send us back to a time when we were unable to easily treat infections such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, gonorrhea and salmonellosis. Drug resistance is caused by the overuse of antimicrobials in humans, but also in animals, especially those used for food production, as well as in the environment.
Ebola and other high-risk pathogens
In 2018, the Democratic Republic of Congo experienced two separate Ebola outbreaks, both of which spread to cities of more than one million inhabitants.
the context in which an epidemic of a high-risk pathogen such as Ebola appears is crucial.
Low primary health care
Primary health care is usually the first point of contact for people with their health care system and ideally should provide comprehensive, affordable and community-based care throughout life. Yet many countries do not have adequate primary health care facilities. This neglect may be a lack of resources in low- and middle-income countries, but perhaps also in recent decades a focus on single-disease programs.
The hesitation to the vaccine
Vaccine hesitation – reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines – threatens to reverse progress in the fight against vaccine-preventable diseases. Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective ways to avoid the disease. It currently prevents 2 to 3 million deaths a year and 1.5 million more could be avoided if global coverage of immunization improved.
The dengue
Dengue, a mosquito-borne disease that causes flu-like symptoms and can be fatal and kill up to 20% of people with severe dengue, has been a growing threat for decades. Now, the season in these countries is growing considerably (in 2018, Bangladesh has recorded the highest number of deaths in almost two decades) and the disease is spreading in less tropical and more temperate countries , like Nepal, who had never seen it before. .
HIV
Progress in HIV control has been enormous in HIV testing, provision of antiretrovirals and access to preventative measures such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), the period during which people at risk of contracting HIV take antiretrovirals to prevent infection). Since the beginning of the epidemic, about 35 million people have died.
Source: World Health Organization
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