Promoting Exclusive Breastfeeding: A Global Health Intervention

Yesterday in class we identified that a key public health issue to address worldwide is the promotion of exclusive breastfeeding for infants. We then discussed how aggressive infant formula marketing is problematic in developing countries. I wanted to elaborate here on my comment during class about this, and give some concrete information for you guys to find and reference as we finish the term and part ways.

Soda Ban: Update in NYC and Mississippi's New Bill

I read an article on NPR this morning about a new bill in Mississippi that many are referring to as the "anti-bloomberg" bill (*bloomberg's bill has now been overturned by a judge).  This bill if passed - which many are speculating will, will basically buffer against governmental regulations on food.  The article does states some examples of certain regulations that this bill will help to avoid.  An important thing to keep in mind is that Mississippi has the highest rate of obesity in the US and the second highest African American population per capita! This article really made me think back to when went over the very individualistic culture that the US has because this bill is basically that.  People want to make their own choices and well companies want more money.  But making choices isn't simple when it comes to food - you have to have knowledge and be informed, since this bill may eradicate nutrition labels on food, how is a consumer supposed to make the right choice?

I feel like this is creating a messy controversy over something as simple as maintaining a healthy diet - Bloomberg just shouldn't have implemented the legislation in the first place.  As this CNN article states smartly: "The so-called 'war on sugar' is not a culture war, it is a public health imperative backed by science." But because of Bloomberg's legislation or the usage of law to prevent people on buying something as basic as "food", it is turning out be a culture war.  Which is a huge mistake in my opinion - there are other smarter ways to go about it.

"Girl Rising: One girl with courage is a Revolution"

Over the weekend I stumbled upon an article from Oregonlive.com describing a new film that encompasses much of what we've talked about in class. The film, Girl Rising, follows the true stories of nine different girls around the world. "There is no miracle here. Just a girl with dreams," proclaims one. Each girl fights to change her own reality.

The film even has some local ties because it was produced by Intel. There are some screenings coming up, but more can be requested. Information on showings can be found here.

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Vandana Shiva on Int’l Women’s Day: "Capitalist Patriarchy Has Aggravated Violence Against Women"

I noticed several postings about how being a woman is detrimental to your health in a global context. This is timely for several reasons but the most important one is that yesterday, March 8th, was International (Working) Women's Day. In an attempt to deepen and further the discussion on Women's Rights, Global Health, and global economies, I wanted to highlight an internet article I came across on Democracy Now.

Health in Haiti

           On Jan 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the Caribbean nation Haiti. Its immense power left 1.3 million people homeless, and an estimated death toll of 220,000. With an estimated 70 % of the population living on less than two dollars a day, the nation has solely relied on international aid in the attempt to rebuild their country(DEC, 2011). As of last month, over 7.5 billion in aid had been donated but this amount is nowhere near what has been promised by the international community (Sontag, 2012). Despite this sum of money and being in the United States’ back yard, the people of Haiti are still suffering from extreme poverty, unacceptable living conditions and little access to health services. Each member of group 12 has taken it upon themselves to connect Haiti’s current predicament to one of the many key concepts that has been presented to us during the past 10 weeks. As you will soon see from the information provided, the world has failed in its response to the Haitian earthquake and conditions seem to only be getting worse.

Derek Summerfield: Critic of ‘Global Mental Health’

Derek Summerfield, a researcher and academic of London’s Institute of Psychiatry, is a fundamental critic of the idea of ‘global mental health’. Due to his deeply rooted criticism of the history of the westernization of the world at large, Summerfield believes the West’s infiltration across the globe is a toxic force, plaguing humans worldwide. His main opposition to the idea of global mental health is that we, as the West, have little understanding of mental health in our own countries let alone a good grasp of what others in different cultures, and therefore invariably different worlds, are struggling with on a psychosocial level. Before the West finishes grappling with its own understanding of mental health does it have any right deploying it on a larger, global sphere. Derek Summerfield believes the global epidemic of mental disorders is a false positive and a true detriment to human beings everywhere.

Maternal Health

                                                     Fetal Origins of Disease

            The fetal origin of disease theory is what happens to a person in the womb affects their health for the rest of their lives. So in regards to mother’s maternal health the stress, nutrition and overall health of the mother directly affects the health outcomes for her child in regards to chronic diseases such heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, obesity, osteoporosis and cancer. Birth weight is directly affected by the health of the mother. Low birth weight babies are more prone to becoming insulin resistant later. Also low birth weight babies are twice as likely to have high blood pressure. This relates to fetal origin of disease theory because smaller birth weight babies have less nephrons in their kidneys at birth. Over our lives these start to diminish which leads to increased blood pressure. Babies who start out with less nephrons because of being a low birth weight will have an increased risk of high blood pressure. The mother’s maternal health directly relates to her child’s birth rate so protecting the child in to womb is the best solution to avoiding chronic disease later in life. This is a link to David Barkers research on fetal origins the web site will give you an in depth understanding about this theory.                                     

Pathways to a Career in Global Health

           
           Many students are inspired to pursue a career in global health when introduced to the impact the field has on large populations.  There are three main areas one might research when looking into pursuing career in global health. 

Being Born a Woman: A Dangerous Prospect for your Health

"Poor health shreds communities, undermines economic opportunity, and holds back progress."

                                                         -Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of  State

To be born a woman can be a serious hazard for your health. Depending on her place of birth a woman will likely face adverse health effects in numbers far higher than her male counterparts. In many nations women face a myriad of barriers to health including poverty, lack of autonomy, violence, lack of access to healthcare, work hazards, harmful traditional practices, lower legal status, lack of proper maternal care and lack of access to education to name a few. 

Poverty has well documented effects on health outcomes and over 70 percent of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty are women ( Craft, British Medical Journal). When women are malnourished it create a vicious cycle since the maternal health of the mother is effected and often the child she bears will have lifelong negative health outcomes from the mother’s lack of nutrition. If a woman lives in a low income country that has an undeveloped health care system she may lack the access she needs to proper care as well. In some countries with failing health care systems, women can even fall prey to practices like the women targeted for unnecessary hysterectomies performed in poorer rural parts of India by unscrupulous health clinics.

Global Health and Human Rights

Most people can probably agree that it is a right to be free of torture and inhumane degrading treatment and violence. How about the right to food and nutrition, and the right to information? If you find yourself agreeing with the fact that these are human rights, then you can probably agree with the statement that human rights are explicitly connected with health care. Health goes beyond eating the right foods or getting enough exercises. Health is about reducing ill health with the promotion of education and access to information, especially having the ability to inform one's self. It is allowing everyone to actively participate in the health of their families as well as their communities. It is about being free from discrimination, and the ability for movement; the promotion of human rights through health development. Health care is about not only keeping people healthy but protecting and assuring their well being is safe. Protecting them from inhumane torture and slavery, as well as having the ability to prevent preventable deaths; diarrheal diseases, malaria, childbirth complications etc. Once delving into the issue, it is evident that healthcare are human right.

The Landfill Harmonic "A violin is worth more than a house here"

The Landfill Harmonic is really an inspirational and phenomenal concept that has been made into a documentary. I just found out about this the  other day and had to share. Most of the background information is in the film but essentially a young group of people in Cateura, Paraguay are creating amazing instruments out of trash and playing them beautifully. They call themselves "Los Reciclados", or The Recycled Orchestra.

A look at HIV treatments in a global context

HIV/AIDS: An introduction

World AIDS Day is Dec 1st
Every Year

As most of us know by now, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), has become a pandemic of epic proportions.  Lower income countries, and many underserved parts and populations of the United States, still continue to struggle with the disease, and with proven strategies to decrease incidence rates—even with the many advancements and understanding of HIV that we have in certain sectors of the developed world and globally. In an attempt to understand the disease and how it impacts many different populations across the world more in-depth, several of our group members watched 3 Needles: a 2005 Canadian film released on World AIDS Day. You can see the trailer for the film below. This film, along with the links, are a good primer for understanding the global HIV epidemic a bit more. After watching the film several of us became interested in understanding what is being done now, and what sort of interventions can be successfully deployed to combat this disease around the world.

The Disease of War

"War can be thought of as a complex disease process that attacks the group organism of mankind” –Salim Yusef

            Afghanistan, compared to other lower-income countries has the unfortunate disadvantage of being war-torn for decades. Because of this, it has never had the chance to develop and maintain a strong and independent political system. Our group was interested in the impact of war and living in a war-torn country on mentally ill citizens and on women and children.  

For Many, TB Still a Major Health Concern

In recent class lectures, and in the news, much attention has been given to the topic of Tuberculosis (TB). TB is an infectious disease that is very common and often lethal if left untreated. As we have learned, dying from TB is evidence of inadequate health care services and pervasive social inequities. Our post will discuss several populations that are disproportionately affected by TB. These are disadvantaged populations for whom this disease is a pressing global health concern because drugs used in its treatment are rapidly becoming obsolete while drug-resistant strains are becoming more and more prevalent.

The Girl Effect

Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn speak about the concept of empowerment through education in their book Half the Sky, “The women meanwhile financed the education of younger relatives, and saved enough of their pay to boost national savings rates. This pattern has been called ‘the girl effect’”. Here follows, a few examples of the “girl effect” in locations all around the world.

GMOs: journalist and scientist weigh in

Our discussion as a group started here, with a lecture at Oxford University from Mark Lynas a British author, journalist, and environmental activist. Lynas has published several books about climate change, including Six Degrees which won the Royal Society science book prize. His stance as an environmentalist made him a staunch anti-GMO advocate, and his work helped stop the spread of GM crops across Europe. Recently, Lynas switched positions on the issue and says his stance was out of ignorance and that the anti-GMO movement is perpetuated by “well-fed consumers (who) are blinded by romantic nostalgia for the traditional farming of the past.” He claims that if anti-GMO movements do succeed, “they might actually precipitate the famines and the crisis of global biodiversity." Lynas says he experienced a change of heart when he realized that the anti-GMO movement is anti-science and in conflict with his stance as an environmentalist. He says that research he conducted for his books on global warming have changed his views on the movement, and now looks to GM crops as an answer to feeding the world’s growing population. 

Re-emerging Disease: The Hanta Virus

HPS, or Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome is a relatively newly discovered genus of viruses. The first known case of Hantavirus in the States, in 1993, happened in the Four Corners area of New Mexico where a man was taken to the Hospital and died rapidly afterward. The 1993 outbreak of the virus led to a joint collaboration from a number of government and military agencies to identify the disease and determine its origin. Since the 1993 outbreak there have been a number of cases throughout different states and a re-emergence of the virus in Oregon has happened as recently as June 2012.

US Report Calls For Global Action Enforcement Against Fake Drugs

 

Counterfeit drugs seized by the U.S. Customs & BorderProtection (CBP) are seen on display at the agency's offices at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York August 15, 2012.

I suppose we should not be surprised that the Institute of Medicine has documented serious problems in our drug supply, with “counterfeit, contaminated and adulterated drugs” in every part of the globe.  Ever since the Chinese dog food scared of 2007, I expected it was only a matter of time before the same lack of standards and regulations affected the human food supply, or worse.  Thankfully the FDA is at least asking the questions, which led to the extensive report released in February.

Globally, obesity is killing 3x more than malnutrition

According to this Telegraph article, a study by the Global Burden Disease and published by The Lancet, has revealed that triple the number of deaths result from obesity compared to malnutrition. Since 1990, death by malnutrition has been cut two-thirds, and in 2010 was at less than 1 million. Despite this success, we are now seeing a global population that is suffering in their later years due to too much food with little valuable nutrition. Rather than having the loss of children and the poor due to a lack of food, we are experiencing higher rates of chronic disease in the adult years.

Besides having a high body mass index, which is now ranked the 6th most important risk factor for death, globally people are also dying from high blood pressure, drinking, and smoking. In order to reduce disease risk, the article quotes a Professor Ezzati that people should have easier access to fresh fruits and vegetables and that sodium content of food should be regulated. It is such a simple fix, but why isn't it being implemented now?

With issues of free trade, inflation, low-income, and capitalism, it is not so easy to simply make it "easier" to buy produce and to set a limit to the use of salt. The world is stuck in a rut, where the poor and "middle" class are conditioned to consume cheap, low-quality food, and it's virtually impossible to change this behavior on a political level. There seems to be no easy answer, but awareness of the problem and a willingness to educate others and vote on related legislature is what can get the ball rolling, and hopefully that would lead to a snowball effect that can cause societal change on a global scale.

To be born a woman is a danger to your health

Today India faces a nationwide issue of women being brutalized by violence and rape; which has become an daily occurrence and the fastest growing crime in India. According to Al-Jazeera, a woman is raped every 20 minutes in India, and 24,000 rape cases were reported last year alone. The medical outlet also reported that 80% of women in Delhi had been sexually harassed, while "The Times of India" has reported that rape in India has increase by a staggering 792% over the past 40 years. 

Culture-bound Syndrome in Ghana: "Emmanuel's Gift"

Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah

Hi all,

Here is an example of Culture Bond Syndrome in Ghana, in the documentary, Emmanuel's Gift. You can watch the trailer here.

The film follows Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, who was born with deformed right leg and was ostracized by his community due to being disabled. In Ghana, it is a common belief that people who are born with deformities or who are disabled,is due to punishment from a deity and are treated like second class citizens.


Emmanuel asks for a grant for bicycle from the Challenged Athletes Foundation so that he can ride across Ghana (400 miles) to change the perception of people who are disabled. I found this documentary to be very interesting (and uplifting) and a different take on Culture-bound Syndrome.
Thanks! Camille

Alien Boy

Recently I attended a great film at the international film festival in Portland, Alien Boy: The Life and Death of James Chasse.  Many of you may recognize this name, as his life and death took place here in Portland.  James was my cousin, so I feel an obligation to share a little about him, the film, as well as how it relates to global health here in the US.  James was a schizophrenic who was brutally tackled, beaten, and tased by members of the Portland Police Department.  This all occurred during the afternoon of September 17th 2006, across from Blue Hour restaurant in the Pearl District, resulting in his death from internal bleeding later that night.

Same Genetic Basis Found in 5 Types of Mental Disorders

A study has been underway to find if there is a link between genetic errors and mental illness.  After conducting a examination of over 60,000 people from around the world, the findings seem to support this hypothesis.  Two of the gene irregularities are present on genes that are involved in the major signaling system of the brain, providing scientists with a better idea of what may be going on as well as possible ways of treating the disorders.  Please read the story here.

Want to help with United Nations MDG's? Here's how!

While learning about the United Nations 8 Millennium Development Goals, I could not help but want to know more about what I could do to work towards meeting these goals in our future.  I thought by sharing ideas to help achieve these goals, we could hopefully make an even bigger difference.  Maybe each one of us that reads this could make just one contribution to one of these ideas in some way.  I found ideas that involve simply donating money, purchasing items in order to empower others, traveling to help build schools or even going on an adventure and hiking the Himalayas to help raise money.  I hope these ideas inspire others as much as they have inspired me.