Influences on health and status and the millennium development goals

Influences on health status in developing countries and Australia In general, there is a broad discrepancy between the health status of people from developed countries when compared to people from developing countries Discrepancies exist in many areas, such as: income, gender equality, peace, education, access to health care, political stability, global marketing, physical environments

Income Ultimately, it is income that will determine a person’s health status and the overall health status of the country in which they live Low income earners in Australia are protected by government regulated employment guidelines – the same does not apply to many people in developing countries

Gender equality Gender equality means valuing equally the roles of males and females and removing prejudice based on sex Much of this inequality is faced by women, but men too can face gender inequality A main issue associated with gender inequality is the discrepancy that exists in relation to education opportunities afforded to boys and not girls in many countries

Peace During times of peace, countries can prosper financially and developmentally During times of conflict, countries experience increased poverty, disease, lack of education and other opportunities Australia is considered a peaceful nation Some developing nations are constantly at war

Education Education is critical to becoming a productive member of society, earning an income, and knowing how to access health care Lack of access to education, and resulting illiteracy is a major issue for many developing nations Australians generally have broad access to primary, secondary and higher education

Access to health care Australians generally have excellent access to health care including medical, pharmaceutical, dental and nursing Many people in developing countries do not have access to health care – with a direct consequence being a shorter life

Political stability In Australia, we have a very low risk of political instability and political debate generally focuses on improving health care, education and infrastructure In developing nations with political instability, decisions regarding health care, education and development are not on the agenda. Rather, political debate may be focused on conflict, war and weapons

Global marketing Global marketing refers to promoting a product throughout the world Tobacco, alcohol and processed foods are three products that have the biggest impact on health status Developed countries – like Australia – have strict rules surrounding the marketing of these products Similar rules do not exist in developing nations

Physical environments Physical environments refer to external surroundings – where a person lives, works and engages in recreation In Australia, we have strict rules about emissions, pollution and other similar hazards. Such rules do not exist in many developing nations

Millennium development goals (MDGs) The United Nations MDGs are a set of 8 goals that all UN member countries – and number of international organisations - have agreed to achieve by 2015 The 8 goals are supplemented by 18 targets and 60 indicators which have been set to measure the achievement of the goals A yearly progress report is issued

The MDGs 1.Reducing poverty and hunger 2.Increasing the number of children who attend school 3.Empowering women 4.Decreasing child mortality 5.Improving maternal mortality 6.Combating HIV, malaria & other diseases 7.Ensuring environmental sustainability 8.Global partnerships

GOAL 1 Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger TARGETS 1. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day 2. Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people 3. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger

Poverty Poverty has been described as the greatest pollutant of the developing world Cost of food is an underlying issue in extreme poverty A related consequence of poverty is undernourishment

Achieve universal primary education The most significant influence on helping people escape for mire of poverty is education While achieving primary education is critical, ultimately children also need secondary education

Promote gender equality and empower women As of 2008, girls accounted for 55% of the out- of-school population Empowering women – through education and other means – will increase the share of women in wage employment and the proportion of women in national parliaments

Reduce child mortality Millions of children die each year from preventable causes in developing countries A child born in a developing country is over 13 times more likely to die in the first 5 years of life than a child born in a developed country Preventable diseases such as measles, malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia are the main causes of childhood deaths in developing countries

Improve maternal health In many developing countries, the rate of maternal mortality remains unacceptably high In sub-Saharan Africa, the rate of dying from complications during pregnancy or birth is 1 in 22, compared to 1 in 7300 in developed countries Access to antenatal care is essential for improving maternal health

Combating diseases HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases are a critical focus of the MDGs Deaths from these diseases are linked to lack of prevention and treatment Prevention and education programs and access to health care is essential

Environmental sustainability Climate change and poverty must be considered as intertwined factors given that climate change has a significant impact on agriculture, patterns of disease and severe weather occurrences Climate change is a significant issue for developing and developed nations alike Access to clean drinking water is a critical issue

Developing global partnerships In recent years, there has been a reduction in the amount of aid and official development assistance from developed countries to developing countries Total aid provided by most developed countries falls well short of the 0.7% target of gross national income set by the UN in 2007.

Interrelationships between health, human development and sustainability Sustainability is the consideration of how we can meet the needs of today without reducing the capacity of future generations Human development is referred to as being able to enhance one’s capabilities. Health, human development and sustainability are intrinsically linked