An Overview of What Global Health Is

There have been significant improvements in the state of health in the world over the decades: the average global life expectancy since 1960 has increased from just over 50 to over 71; smallpox has been wiped out and the number of deaths from measles, 871,000 in 1999, rapidly fell to an estimated figure of 12,000 in 2012 (thanks to vaccination). However, though there are more than 7 billion people in the world, only 1 billion can expect to lead a long and healthy life. Unlike in the past, health problems are no longer confined within the individual countries. The SARS epidemic, which started in China in 2002, rapidly spread to 29 different countries in 8 months. The emissions of CO(2) in the United States and China may be causing an increase in floods in Bangladesh, as we show in the book. Global health has been defined by the United States Institute of Medicine as all those “health problems, issues, and concerns that transcend national boundaries, may be influenced by circumstances or experiences in other countries, and are best addressed by co-operative actions and solutions.” The concept of global health is connected with another important phenomenon, that of the epidemiological transition, or the continuous process according to which some diseases decline (many infectious diseases and those caused by malnutrition) and others spread (chronic “ non-communicable” diseases). According to many indicators, including health, there is a general convergence of the countries in the world but also great internal inequalities in each country. In this chapter addresses the new health issues raised by globalisation, including the impact of economic and technological changes. In doing so, it tells three exemplary stories of globalisation and health: Nauru (a very early example of the impact of globalisation), Greece (the consequences of the economic crisis) and Bangladesh (one of the countries currently most exposed to the effects of climate change).