The document emphasizes the critical importance of addressing global health issues, as recognized by the United Nations and led by the World Health Organization. It discusses the interconnection of health with poverty, education, gender equality, and the need for collaborative efforts to tackle diseases and support vulnerable populations. Furthermore, it outlines specific health initiatives, the Millennium Development Goals, and various strategies for improving health outcomes on a global scale.

1. GLOBAL
HEALTH
TRENDS, ISSUES
AND
CONCERNS

2. LET US KNOW
The United Nations recognizes the critical significance of global health issues,
placing them at the forefront of international concerns. To effectively address
these challenges, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been tasked with
leading and coordinating efforts among member nations, including the
Philippines, to provide direction, oversight, technical assistance, and
education in matters pertaining to health. In today's interconnected world,
safeguarding public health is not only a shared obligation but also a necessity
for global stability and prosperity. Understanding and addressing global health
issues, such as equitable access to healthcare and protection against cross-
border threats, are paramount in ensuring the well-being of billions worldwide.
This learning serves as a valuable tool in enhancing awareness and
comprehension of diverse global health challenges and the strategies
implemented to mitigate them on both global and local scales.

3. LET US REVIEW
Answer these questions:
1. What are the current health issues and concerns in your
community? Share and discuss these health initiatives.
2. What will the world be like if health issues and concerns are not
properly addressed by peoples around the world?
3. If you are a health worker in your community, what health issues
and concerns do you think should be addressed immediately?
Why?

4. 8 MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
The United Nations Millennium Development Goals are eight targets that all 191 UN Member
States have agreed to achieve by 2015. The United Nations Millennium Declaration, signed in
September 2000 commits world leaders to fight discrimination against women and children,
disease, hunger, poverty, illiteracy, and environmental degradation. All these goals cannot attain
without addressing each and everyone. All of them influence, affect, and depend on better global
health programs and policies.
1. Developing country particularly in Africa and Asia suffer from extreme poverty and
hunger. Poverty and hunger lead to severe malnutrition which leads to lifelong physical
and cognitive (learning and reasoning) damage and affects health, well-being, and the
economy. Some key suggestions to eradicate poverty and hunger are:
• Education
• Promoting gender equality
• Producing more jobs
• Investing more in agriculture
• Strengthened nutrition programs for children and infants.
• Support and protection of developing and vulnerable countries during crises

5. 2. Persons, particularly women who are educated, are more likely to
seek medical care especially during pregnancy, ensuring proper nutrition
for their family, adopting healthy sanitary practices, and ensuring
immunization of children. As an effect, infants 2 and children have better
survival rates, are healthier and better nourished. If these are attained,
children who receive primary education are more likely to:
• Marry and have their own families at a later stage in life.
• Practice family planning and have fewer children.
• Know rights, responsibilities, and civic obligations.
• Seek employment and sustain personal and family needs.
• Have decreased risk of getting sexually transmitted infections like
HIV/AIDS.
• Support and protection of developing and vulnerable countries during
crises

6. 3. Gender equality means equal representation of men and women. It
implies that all gender should have equal value and treatment. Equal
gender treatment empowers women and other groups creating
opportunities in education, work, finances, and other aspects which
improves the economy and lessen effects of financial crises. Gender
equality can be achieved through:
• Early childhood development intervention.
• Promotion of women’s political rights and involvement.
• Improved reproductive health programs and policies.
• Education and integrating gender equality in school curriculum.
• Improved women’s access to work and strengthened labor policies for
women.
• Support and protection of developing and vulnerable countries during
crises.

7. 4. Programs and policies which help reduce child mortality like
improving nutritional intake, healthcare facilities and infrastructure,
and other fields which improve children’s lives. Strengthening
local and national health programs and policies is one way to
reduce child mortality. This includes:
• Immunization programs.
• Assuring the survival and better health of mothers.
• Improving reproductive health programs and policies.
• Better nutrition program for infants, children, and mothers.

8. 5. Improved maternal health is not only about mother’s health but also
involves the health and wellness of the family. Maternal health also helps
eradicate other problems like poverty, gender inequality, decreased
workforce, lower birth deaths, and disability of women. Some ways to
improve maternal health include:
• Improved and proper nutrition of mothers.
• Teaching the benefits of birth spacing and small family size.
• Educating young boys and girls about the importance of maternal
health.
• Better and improved access to hospital care especially obstetrics-
gynecology, prenatal and postnatal care.

9. 6. Emerging and re-emerging diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria, influenza,
and other diseases affect productivity and growth of nations. Some of the
effects of disease outbreak are loss of jobs, shortage in professional
workers, and creating social crises. Children are the most vulnerable and
are exposed to exploitation and abuse undermining their normal growth and
development. Some ways to combat diseases include effective prevention,
treatment and care like:
• Improved housing conditions.
• Increased access to anti-malarial medicines.
• Promoting safer sex behavior and preventive education for all.
• Promoting Tuberculosis (TB) screening of HIV/AIDS persons and
• TB - Directly Observed Treatment Short (TB-DOTS) Course therapy.
• Promoting the use of insecticide-treated nets to fight mosquito-borne
diseases.

10. 7. Investing and supporting sustainable energy like solar, wind
and water energy help support jobs, create business opportunities,
and save remaining non-renewable energy sources. Environmental
sustainability assures peoples to live healthier and enjoy a clean
and green environment. Some of the benefits of a sustainable
environment are:
• Cleaner air and environment.
• Clean, environment-friendly, and renewable energy.
• New and aspiring jobs and business in energy.
• Increased access to sanitation.

11. 8. The United Nations, World Health Organization, World Bank, and
governments work together to make sure there is fair trade and that
heavily indebted countries obtain relief and funds to combat poverty,
malnutrition and funds for education and social projects. Some benefits
of global partnership are:
• Expanded international trade agreements.
• Improved access to affordable medicine.
• Reduced poverty through government debt relief grant.
• Developed information and communication technology (ICT)
infrastructure.

12. THE GLOBAL FIGHT AGAINST COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
1. Roll Back Malaria is a global effort to reduce the number of deaths from
malaria infection through heightened prevention tools, rapid response to
outbreaks, development of new anti-malarial products, and effective treatment of
the infection.
Specific objective:
a. To enable and to increase the capacity of caregivers to recognize malaria
promptly and take early appropriate action.
b. To empower service providers by imparting adequate knowledge, skill and
capacity which enable them to respond to malaria illness appropriately.
c. To create an enabling environment for implementation.

13. 2. Stop TB is a global effort to prevent further transmission of tuberculosis or TB around
the world. One of the programs for Stop TB is the implementation of the TB-DOTS short-
course strategy.
Objectives:
a. To achieve universal access to high-quality diagnosis and patient-centered treatment.
b. b. To reduce the suffering and socio-economic burden associated with TB.
c. c. To protect poor and vulnerable populations from TB, TB/HIV and multi drugresistant – TB
(MDR-TB). d. To support development of new tools and enable their timely and effective
use.
3. The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization is a global strategy which aims to
strengthen children’s immunization programs and introduce new generation of licensed
vaccines into use in developing countries across the globe. These new vaccines which could
help reduce the number of deaths in children aged 5 years old and below includes:
a. Hepatitis B vaccine
b. Childhood meningitis vaccine
c. Yellow fever vaccine
d. Influenza vaccine
e. Vaccine for pneumonia

14. 4. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria is a funding project rather than an initiative.
Nevertheless, it helps in the prevention, reduction, and mitigation of the negative impacts of the
three diseases to humanity which contributes to the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals.
Global Prevention and Control of Tobacco and Alcohol Use
WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco
Control (WHO FCTC) is the prime international treaty negotiated under WHO. The WHO FCTC
came into existence in reaction to the global epidemic of tobacco use and abuse. It reaffirms the
right of every individual across the world to the highest standard of health promoting public health
and providing new legal means for global health cooperation. The following summarizes the WHO
FCTC provisions:
1. Price and tax measures to reduce the demand for tobacco, and
2. Non-price measures to reduce the demand for tobacco, namely:
• Protection from exposure to tobacco smoke.
• Regulation of the contents of tobacco products.
• Regulation of tobacco product disclosures.
• New packaging and labeling of tobacco products.
• Education, communication, training, and public awareness.
• Demand reduction measures concerning tobacco dependence and cessation; and
• Tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship.

15. Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol.
The Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol recognizes the close ties between the
harmful use of alcohol and the socio-economic development of a nation. Likewise, this strategy
builds and supports other global health initiatives like the global strategy for the prevention and
control of non-communicable diseases.
Global Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases.
The Global Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases is a global
action plan to prevent and control the following non-communicable diseases: cardiovascular
diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, cancers, and diabetes and the four shared risk factors:
unhealthy eating, physical inactivity, tobacco use and alcohol use.
Objectives of the Action Plan:
1. To raise the priority accorded to non-communicable disease at global and national levels and to
integrate prevention and control of such diseases into policies across all governments.
2. To establish and strengthen national policies and plans for the prevention and control of non-
communicable diseases.
3. To promote interventions to reduce the main shared but preventable risk factors for non-
communicable diseases: unhealthy eating, physical inactivity, tobacco use, and harmful use of
alcohol.
4. To promote research for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.

16. 5. To promote partnerships for the prevention and control of non -communicable diseases.
6. To monitor non-communicable diseases and their causal factors and evaluate progress at the
local, national, and global levels.
Global Initiative for Mental Health
Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020 The “Comprehensive Mental Health Action
Plan 2013-2020” is the result of extensive research and consultations by stakeholders, member
nations, academic and non-government centers across the globe. The mental health action plan
should be impartial, life-based, and preventive in nature. It basically addresses the following:
• To fight and alleviate negative trends in mental health.
• To improve and make mental health services and care accessible, and
• To prevent abuse of rights and unjust treatment against people with mental problems, disorders,
and disabilities which are still prevalent around the world.

17. ACTIVITY NO. 1 - ISSUES, CONCERNS, AND TRENDS (ICT) Write in each box the different health
issues, concerns and trends encountered around the world. These issues concerns and trends may
have not been mentioned in the readings but should also be addressed by international and national
communities. Add more boxes if needed.
GLOBAL HEALTH
ISSUES, CONCERNS
AND TRENDS(global
level)

18. ACTIVITY NO. 2 - PRESENT AND FUTURE Think of the present status of these global health
issues and concerns. Write these in the Present column. Predict what will happen if these
global health issues and concerns are properly addressed by different nations. Write these in
the Future column.
PRESENT GLOBAL HEALTH ISSUES AND
CONCERNS
FUTURE
Communicable Diseases
Tobacco and Alcohol Use
Mental Health

19. LET US PRACTICE MORE
ACTIVITY NO. 3 – RELATED ARTICLES
Search for at least two related articles or case studies about different global health issues,
concerns and trends. Paste these in the activity sheet or notebook. Use these guide questions:
1. Should the health issues, concerns, and trends you have gathered deserved to be
addressed by international and national government? Why?
2. Rate the top 10 health issues, concerns and trends with 1 as the highest priority. Explain
your opinion on its urgency.
3. What do you think are reasons these health initiatives are difficult to implement worldwide?
Explain.
4. If you are to implement a health initiative in your community, which would you initiate and
why? Discuss the ways you would organize and finance the program.

20. THANK YOU !