Interhealth

In the year 2000, with the onset of the UN Millennium Development Goals, there was a feeling of excitement among the international community. It was widely believed that we had finally found a solution to a history of health inequity, and were on the path to global equality.

These goals were: ¹

1. Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty.

2. Achieve universal primary education.

3. Promote gender equality, and empower women.

4. Reduce child mortality.

5. Improve maternal health.

6. Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and other diseases.

7. Ensure environmental sustainability.

8. Establish a global partnership for development.

Nine years on, almost 30,000 women and children die every day due to extreme poverty.²

A recent survey of 2000 Australian medical students found that a tremendous 65% of medical students had never heard of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. ³

Decades of experience have taught us that it is the complex interplay of factors that determine the health status of a nation. If we really are serious about tackling global health inequality, we have a lot to learn. Furthermore, our education must be accurate, relevant, and inspired.

We need to understand its history; the genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, and Bosnia, the timeline of diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria, the development of modern Human Rights following the Geneva Convention, and the complexities of our ongoing Indigenous Australian health crisis.

We must be aware of how the world was, how it has changed, and where we are going. Can we still divide the world into ‘us’ (the developed world) and ‘them’ (the developing world), or should we take a more contextualised approach.

Similarly, an understanding of international economies and politics is imperative. Without a working knowledge of organisations such as the WTO (World Trade Organisation), UN (United Nations), IMF (International Monetary Fund) and WHO (World Health Organisation), as well as the effects of the TRIPS agreement, we cannot hope to understand the history of bad trade, and bad debt.

We must also recognise that we, as an international community, have made huge advances towards global health equity with foundations such as Médecins Sans Frontiers, the International Red Cross, and the “Make Poverty History” campaign. It is important to acknowledge leaders such as Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela or Bono in an attempt to realise what has, and will work.

Rather than shy away from the task, use this as an excuse to get involved! Read up on the topics you’re interested in, discuss current issues with like minded students, and by all means, come down to Interhealth’s Global Health Short Course in semester two.

The struggle for global health equity is a young, exciting, and rapidly growing one, with new ideas being realised every day. The way forward for today’s youth must begin with an education which covers the many complex factors at play in the world, ranging from extreme poverty and health in conflict zones, to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the devastating effects of climate change.

As medical students with a genuine interest in International health and development, we can work together to ensure that as many university students as possible are further motivated and educated about global development. For more information on how we can do this, see our Global Health Short Course initiative.

References:

1. End Poverty 2015 – Millennium Development Goals. United Nations; [2008; cited 12 Feb 2009]; Available from: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals

2. Shah A. Global Issues. 1998 [updated 03 Sept 2008; cited 19 Feb 2009]. Available from: http://www.globalissues.org.

3. Fox, Carly. Millenium development goals teaching needed for global health. AMSA. 2008 (cited 2009 Feb 17). Available from: www.amsa.org.au/advocacy-media.php