Globalization is essentially the free flow of information, capital, goods and people across geographic boundaries. Globalization is not a recent phenomenon however the pace with its moving is fairly new. Steps need to be taken because it is affecting those who have the least resources and virtually no access to health care facilities. Globalization is a dynamic force which gives impetus to both positive and negative aspects. Growing cities are in a better position to handle the problems that are associated with illness and disease since they are better equipped with facilities especially those pertaining to health care and hygiene.
However behind all this development is a major set back; as cities grow and develop they become more prone to the burden of over population resulting in the contribution of a global spread in infectious diseases. Trade and transportation are vital parts of the global society. As people come into contact with one another cutting national boundary the risk of disease is heightened to a great extent. (Nils 1999, n. p. ) With the advent of increases globalization comes an increase in the spread of vector disease, mosquitoes and travel across oceans in the wheel wells of air planes.
What is more global warming and climate change are encouraging the growth of these plagues. The economy, trade and the free market forces are perhaps three of the most important underlying aspects of diseases spread through globalization. For one as the demand of consumers increases in say imported food items a number of cases in mishandling food packages can result in the spread of dangerous viruses. Globalization of travel and trade sources has put humans, animals and plants at risk.
Some of the diseases that could easily be cured such as tuberculosis are now much harder to rectify since human beings have begun to show signs of immunity to these drugs. The leading cause of death world wide has been the spread of infectious diseases which have accounted for approximately one third or one quarter of deaths world over in 19998. Twenty diseases that were thought to have been wiped off emerged again and spread geographically between 1973 and 1999 and twenty nine previously unheard of diseases were found out during the same period including HIV AIDS , Ebola and hepatitis C.
There is virtually no cure for many of these diseases. Some of those developed nations could not rid itself of this trend and the US is one of them. Deaths resulting from infectious diseases in the US have doubled between 1980 and 1999. 40. 000 to 46000 HIV infections was detected in 1999. (Ruggles, 2008, n. p. ) The spread of diseases is not just limited to humans; it spread between animals and plants as well. Global trades transfer further aids in fuelling the process of this transfer. United States being the largest food producer and exporter depends upon agriculture for the sustenance of its economy.
Threat from pests and diseases is very high in the agricultural industry of the nation. The USA has experienced a rise in its border crossings. In the year 1996 over 400 million border crossings were detected and over 422,000 cargo bearing aircrafts were checked on the event of its landing in the US. Factually Each cargo load or even passengers for that matter could have been carrying numerous contagious diseases. It is not possible to prevent the spread of these harmful diseases because it is virtually impossible as viruses and bacteria travel through several means.
They can travel through humans, soil, water, food stuff, animals and the planes that carry people from one place to another. (Ruggles, 2008, n. p. ) It is generally understood that the impact of globalization has had three major effects, primarily in the domain of the health sector. Firstly the amalgamation of world affairs especially in the domain of technology and economics has led to a rise in the spread of diseases at a global level. Secondly due to the intensification of economic competition most governments are pressurized to cut expenditures and mostly the health care system is the first to be victimized.
Public health care has prospered throughout this day and age with new medial advancements saving more lives than ever. The globalization of disease control has led to an increase in the number of people surviving and has actually led to a population boom. Due to this reason there is lack of hygiene, inadequate living space, Overcrowding, overburdened public health infrastructure which has basically laid ground for infectious diseases. A number of measures are being taken to counter this particular problem.
WHO and CDC have drafted action plans that stress on the fact that global surveillance of diseases needs to be recognized, controlled and prevented. WHO has taken developed a unit that will control and prevent emerging diseases at first sight as soon as it is detected and the PAN American health has also formulated a regional plan that will help to solve if not eradicate this most crucial problem. An intergovernmental agency in the US has stressed on the need to develop a mutual co operation between different nations to eliminate this looming monstrosity.
However inculcating international law is not an easy task and it requires a lot of deliberations on part of the politicians, the decision makers and basically all those entities who are in a position to influence and affect. However the success of WHO (world health organization) in effectively countering the problem of globalization and disease suggests that it has not exactly been defective in its strategy. (Fidler 1992 volume 2) Public health officials all agree that globalization causes problems for policies meant for infectious diseases both on the international and national level.
There is substantial evidence to suggest that so far globalization has had more negative effects on health and infectious diseases than positive impacts. The process of globalization affects a broad range of environmental, biological and social factors that aid to the burdening of a number of human infections. Deadly infections can spread through changes in changes in cultural practices, demography and environment. Increasing trade is the number one driving force behind the proliferation of globalization.
It has caused the economy to improve in some places whilst in others it has led to the deterioration of conditions in poorer countries. For many poor people increase in trade leads to greater inequalities and that in turn has crucial consequences for human health and sustenance. As resources are diverted away from the health sector and utilized elsewhere, the spread of viruses becomes even more difficult to control as it requires a lot of money to effectively counter and control the situation
Changes in climatic conditions and extreme whether cases in other areas can lead to a number of favorable conditions especially for vector born illnesses. Increases in the incidence of malaria have been proved to increase during high temperatures. Furthermore climate change is one of several factors that is causing the rapid spread of dengue fever in the last thirty years, along with other aspects of globalization such as increased transport and mixing of dengue viral serotypes Population mobility has far reaching effects on the impact of human health.
Historically the most direct impact has been the spread of infectious diseases. People migrate from place to place due to several reasons and perhaps changing economy is one of the greatest. Poverty, repression, overcrowding and economic failure encourage people to look for newer opportunities but often these incidences lead to a failure in the health mechanism. Mass migration of people causes an inflow of diseases that were previously not present. More importantly refugee camps are mostly in very deplorable conditions and can be seen a s breeding grounds for many viral infections.
Contagious bacterial infections such as TB, cholera, respiratory infections and skin diseases are very common in refugee camps. In low income or poverty stricken countries economic migration has had a significant affect in the rise of HIV AIDS. Research suggests that migrants who cross borders in search of jobs are at a high risk of contracting this disease their basic living changes along with their sexual behavior that heightens the risk of developing this disease. Globalization has increased the pace of urbanization particularly in recent years.
Urban growth has frequently been unplanned and disorganized. Urbanization can affect the spread of infections either positively or negatively. Rapid and unplanned population growth exerts a lot of pressure on a city’s infrastructure. It is difficult to cater to the health needs of those living in shanty towns and slums at urban peripheries which is where most of the diseases are spread from in the first place. Overcrowding, poor housing, inadequate sanitation and solid waste removal and unsafe drinking water are common elements in urban areas.
Statistics suggest that 50% of the world’s urban population lives in deplorable conditions and suffer from absolute poverty. Socio economic inequalities exist to a great degree and health care facilities are restricted only to the few elite individuals who have every thing at their disposal. The poor and unhygienic conditions in many parts of the developed world are ideal breeding grounds for the transmission of diseases and infections which if not countered can go out of hand and unable to be rectified. Statistics suggest that 50% of the world’s population lives under extreme cases of poverty and live under deplorable conditions.
At least one quarter of the people living in urban cities do not have access to safe drinking water. While rural migrants bring with them a lot of diseases they are nonetheless also prone to other diseases themselves. Therefore residents of urban cities face a threat from new and old infections. It can be concluded that globalization is increasing the trend of urbanization which in turn is increasing the incidence of disease. Of all travel related illnesses infections are perhaps the greatest risk to individuals and communities living in dispersed areas as these are easily spread through out a wide locality.
Human and cargo traffic helps facilitate the transfer of pathogens from one locality to another at great ease. The number of travelers being affected by diseases has been increasing and their risky sexual behaviors have made them more prone to STDs. Means of transport can facilitate in itself facilitate the spread of diseases. There are many cases where cruise ships and aero plane flights have been associated with outbreaks of viral infections and other harmful diseases. Fatal cases of yellow fever have been reported by Swiss and American tourists who had traveled to endemic countries without vaccination.
Transport of certain goods can facilitate the spread of human infections. For instance animal tissues transported for scientific research can spread to the human handlers and cause an outbreak. Shipping has introduced a number of goods that have been a cause for great concern as many cases have been seen where the spread of diseases have been prompted through these viral diseases and infections. Trade in blood products has resulted in the spread of viral and other infections furthermore the use of some of the antibiotics continuously has resulted in the formation of immunity.
STDs are spread through national borders depending upon the openness of a particular culture. For instance most Muslims are forbidden to indulge in sexual intercourse outside the institution of marriage. If they go to other countries as tourists they are less likely to indulge in intercourse with strangers thus they are less prone to the contraction of all STDs. However in some western cultures the spread of STDs is very common since religion is mostly not a fundamental priority. They are more likely to indulge in sexual relationships and thus more prone to contract HIV AIDS.
Moreover when they return to their home countries there is a great possibility that other citizens might contract the disease. The globalization of disease programs of WHO was a major success, that is indicative of the fact that the loop holes in international law have been overcome and have had no affect on the health care system through out the world. Despite this fact who has been unwilling to make use of international law. It is WHO that controls international health regulations.
It is representative of the most crucial protocols relating to the control of infectious diseases. However it only takes into account a few diseases such as yellow fever, cholera and plague. The effectiveness of the existent laws on infectious diseases has been questioned as suggested by the appraisal made by WHO which was published in 1975. According to the review the international health regulations have not acted appropriately at times of serious outbreak of diseases. One reason for the weakness of international law is WHO’s non legal strategies.
The effectiveness of international law depends primarily on two things. The first is the consensus between the states and the second is adopting a legal strategy for emerging infectious diseases. States usually end up making commitment that they do not really comply with later on. They do not make any effort to overcome the outbreak of diseases or to handle the situation in an effective and efficient manner. International trade and its effects are gaining attention worldwide as the harmful consequences are being realized.
Trade affects the availability of products, the availability of health services and regulation of public health safety the impact of trade and the current WTO process has the potential to disrupt public health services . the human population is facing a lot of health related threats. More doctors and scientists are required to look into the research of various diseases how they are spread and how they can be prevented. (Gene , n. p. ) The rise in economic growth in Asia has not exactly led to health improvements. If anything public health needs a lot of undivided attention.
India and china are two such nations that have never spent much on health care because it is not part of the productive economy and income levels are two low to actually support a high tech public health are system. Now however these two nations have realized the need to counter outbreaks of the deadliest disease bird flu being on of them and have invested a lot of money in trying to eradicate diseases. ` Despite the fact that a lot of money is being spent worldwide on programs that are geared towards the prevention of HIV AIDS there are millions of people worldwide who are being affected by it.
One reason why global intervention in this particular domain is not working is because of the poor history of underdeveloped nations as far as health care facilities are concerned. They are being given funds unfortunately these funds are not being utilized in the right manner. Females are generally more at a risk of contracting this disease as opposed to males. In 1997 women accounted for 41% of people living with HIV AIDS world wide and this figure has risen to almost 52% in 2002. Many global funds have been raised to counter the problem of AIDS worldwide.
Many international organizations have been established that assist and fund in the implementation of HIV related care programmes. A particular concern however is that not much attention is paid to the prevention of this disease. If a holistic approach is taken it will result in benefits that will have far reaching effects. A robust health care system makes sure of all this. Globalization has brought with it many benefits in countering the problem of HIV AIDS throughout the world. Mitigation of risk factors is the most important thing if this virus is to be effectively controlled.
Secondly there needs to be steady flow of awareness that will help in making the situation better. The huge amounts of funds that are being given to some of the countries that are most affected by AIDS is not being utilized in the correct manner. This issue can be rectified if the health systems are strengthened accordingly in a systematic manner so as to ensure efficient distribution of resources. However other agents and risk factors are also involved such as behavior, socioeconomic and biology that also require consideration. (Coovadia n.
p. ) Increased globalization makes it all too clear that infectious diseases appearing in one country will indefinitely spread to the other. SARS is perhaps the most recent example. SARS affected nearly 10,000 people and killed around a 1000 but it did not lead to the devastating affect that most people were anticipating. However it did have a disproportionate affect on the economy (Smith, n. p. ). The effect of an outbreak on the economy can be truly devastating in nature. It can deplete all resources and leave a country hanging in limbo.
It is absolutely vital therefore to look into this very crucial matter. Globalization of disease is not a very recent phenomenon. It has prevailed throughout the history of mankind and will continue to do so. However this does not indicate that it is not preventable. With the advent of technology nations especially the developed ones are in a better position to eliminate some of the risk factors that are involved. Progressions are being made in light of the situation and although it is not as fast as it should be it is still an effective start.Diseases being spread across nation boundaries do not redeem the situation impregnable.
References
- Daulaire Nils 1999 n. p. globalization and health. Retrieved 23rd April 2008 from http://www. globalhealth. org/assets/html/drmed3. html
- Fidler P David 1996 volume2 globalization, international law and emerging diseases. Retrieved 23rd April 2008 http://www. cdc. gov/ncidod/EID/vol2no2/fidler. htm
- Hoosen Coovadia 2005 n. p. , HIV AIDS retrieved 25th April 2008 from http://www. globalizationandhealth. com/content/1/1/13#