World Resources Chicago Improves Health Outcomes
Disease knows no borders. Both pathogens and lifestyles move around the world and the people of every country and community share the risks. With over 4 billion air passengers flying in 2019 and an estimated 7.2 billion by 2035, we are just one plane ride away from transmitting disease. The responsibility for ensuring the public health rests with governments at local, national and international levels. Public health interventions require cooperation and partnerships at each level and with civil society organizations, corporations, businesses and individuals. Advances in technology can significantly reduce the burden of disease and improve the quality of health and life. To effectively address global health challenges, technology must be integrated into health systems in ways that are both appropriate and sustainable. These interventions are affected by public policies, availability of resources and theories of public health and disease. Existing health organizations are increasingly challenged by the scope and magnitude of the current and future threats to public health such as the AIDS pandemic; vaccine preventable diseases such as measles, and the emergence of new and more virulent infectious diseases such as Ebola, Zika, and flu; the threats of bio-terrorism; growing resistance to antibiotics such as Candida auris or Tuberculosis; lack of basic infrastructure for clean water, air, sanitation and inadequate access to drugs in developing countries; and overabundance of opioids leading to addiction and death, and other complications from foods and environmental stressors, leading to health problems such as diabetes, heart, kidney and lung diseases in all communities.
Reducing chronic diseases and controlling infectious diseases are no longer just the responsibility of national governments, private health care institutions, city departments of public health, or community physicians. Heart disease, strokes, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, obesity and diabetes, substance abuse such as opioids, tobacco and alcohol, and a range of health safety issues are now the major causes of death throughout the world. In addition, especially in low resource countries and communities, people are especially vulnerable to infectious and vaccine preventable diseases such as measles, pertussis, hepatitis, mumps, HIV and AIDS, Zika, Ebola, Malaria, Tuberculosis, Diarrheal diseases, as well as other viruses, parasites and antibiotic resistant bacteria.
With the understanding that a healthy society is also a more economically productive society, there is an increased emphasis on reducing the burden of disease in local communities throughout the world. As a result, there is an enormous increase in the number of organizations and programs that are being implemented by the three sectors of society, public, private and civil society.
