The global health today is facing more threat than it did before. In fact, with each passing year the threats seem to increase crippling the world with multiple health challenges.

This not only tells on the life of the people but also on the economy with more and more money spent in different government aided health programs.

Thee health threats can be wide and diverse and include a variety from outbreaks of;

  • Diseases that can be prevented by proper and timely vaccination such as measles and diphtheria
  • Growing reports of different drug resistant pathogens
  • Increased rate of obesity and
  • Reduced physical inactivity.

Such health threats are primarily caused due to the impacts of environmental pollution, climate change as well as numerous philanthropical crises.

It is therefore the primary concern for most of the governments of the world to address these as well as the other threats.

The initiative taken

Taking the initiative, in 2019 the World Health Organization has taken up a new 5-year plan. This strategic move is called the 13th General Program of Work. This is a specially designed plan that aims specifically at a triple billion target:

  • To provide the benefits of and access to universal health coverage to one billion more people
  • To protect one billion more people from health emergencies and
  • To ensure that one billion more people can enjoy better health and overall well-being.

It is when the governments reach this goal, they will be able to meet the requirement to address the various threats to public health from a range of different angles.

It is a fact that the area in which most of the people spend the highest is their medical bills. This is due to the rising cost of treatment. As a result of the low income of the major section of the population they are often found to be struggling with their medical bills.

Therefore, reaching the goals mentioned above will indirectly help the people to improve their financial health as happiness as well.

Air pollution and climate change

There are several issues that will need attention in 2019 from the global leaders and WHO as well as different health partners.

One such area that needs immediate addressing is the air pollution and change in climatic conditions. According to research, nine out of ten people in this world breathe polluted air every day.

It is for this reason, in 2019, WHO thinks that air pollution is the greatest environmental risk to human health that needs to be addressed. The research has also found that:

  • The microscopic pollutants in the air penetrates the human body through their respiratory systems
  • It affects the circulatory systems and
  • It damages the lungs, heart and brain and at present.

It is also found that such pollutants are killing about seven million people every year all over the world prematurely due to several diseases such as:

In addition to that, the research has also found that about 90% of all deaths caused due to these diseases are in the low and middle-income countries and people.

The causes of air pollution

As far as the causes of such pollutant and diseases are concerned, the research found that it is mainly due to large volumes of emissions from different sources such as:

  • The industries
  • The transport vehicles
  • Dirty fuels
  • Agriculture as well as from
  • The dirty cook stoves in homes.

The burning fossil fuels is also a major cause for air pollution causing rapid change in the climate and also impacts the health of the people in the same ways as mentioned above. It will even cause deaths and these deaths can be varied and include anything from:

  • Malnutrition
  • Diarrhea
  • Malaria and
  • Heat stress.

It is expected that between 2030 and 2050, if the climate changes at this rate it will result in 2,50, 000 additional deaths every year.

The role of WHO

Since air pollution is the primary concern of health, WHO was quick enough to take some immediate action to find out a way to remedy it. In October 2018, WHO held the Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health in Geneva for the first time.

In this conference there were countries from different parts of the world participating who made more than 70 commitments in order to improve air quality.

This year, following the suit of WHO, the United Nations Climate Summit held a similar conference in September. This was held with the goal to strengthen their climate action and their ambition on a global scale.

Noncommunicable diseases

Apart from the basic health issues, air pollution is also the cause of several noncommunicable diseases. These include:

  • Diabetes
  • Cancer and
  • Heart disease.

All these diseases collectively result in more than 70% of all the deaths worldwide which means that more than 41 million people die. This figure includes the 15 million people who die prematurely aging between 30 and 69.

It is also found that, more than 85% of these premature deaths happen in lowand middle-income countries.

The research has also provided an alarming fact which is the reasons that causes the rise of such fatal noncommunicable diseases. The primary causes that the research points at include:

  • Tobacco use
  • Unhealthy diets
  • Physical inactivity
  • Harmful and excessive use of alcohol and of course
  • Air pollution.

All these risk factors are also proven to exacerbate mental health issues among the suffers. These mental issues usually originate from an early age wherein it is seen that more than half of all mental illnesses begin by the age of 14. However, most of these diseases go undetected.

However, even after making all these commitments by countries as per the Paris Agreement, the world is still experiencing a climate change that is increasing the warmth which is set to increase by more than 3°C by the end of this century.

Author Bio:

Cindy Hawthorne has been writing articles on Social Media, skilled business consultant and Health Adviser for the last few years. You can follow her blogs on the same to know more about the conceptions. For More Visit LibertyLending.com