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“Global health” said Dr [Mrs] Ihuoma P Asiabaka is the
health of people in a global context and transcends the perspectives and
concerns of individual nations. It is about worldwide improvement of health,
reduction of disparities and protection against global threat that disregard
national borders.
“Exposure to transnational threat such as climate change,
poverty, violence, etc and a feeling of increase & shared responsibility
for iniquities present in the world today necessitated a more global approach
to improving the health of the world”.
It is based on these that the Centre for Women, Gender and
Development Studies, CWGDS, office of the Vice Chancellor, Federal University
of Technology, Owerri, FUTO, in collaboration with Institute of Environmental
Health Technology, IEHT, FUTO organizes an International conference on ‘Global
Health: Issues, Challenges and Management. The event took place from 20-22nd
May, 2013.
In his address, The Vice Chancellor of FUTO, Prof CC
Asiabaka declares “As a university which has school of health technology with a
clear mandate to research into health related issues and health technology, our
concern is not limited to the production of professionals and specialist in the
area of health technology, we are also expected to create fora such as this
where relevant information and awareness on health, environmental issues would
be examined, thoroughly discussed and implementable solutions proffered for the
benefit of mankind and the society at large.
In her opening address to the conference, The Ag Director of
CWGDS, Dr [Mrs] Ihuoma P Asiabaka said “Global health problems are as a result
of economic, social, environmental, political and health care inequalities and
thus require solution from interdisciplinary teams in such areas as health,
education, social sciences, science and technology.
“The global health challenges include among other issues,
HIV/AIDS, Malaria, emergency and refugee health, non communicable diseases,
injuries, etc.
“Thus there is need for collaborative national and
trans-national efforts including developing evidence-based policy research and
using such evidence-based information constructively in all countries to
improve health equity, and also using public health promotion strategies to
improve health and underlying social, economic, environmental and political
determinants of health”.
The lead paper was presented by Prof Linus Amobi Ilika of
community medicine department, Nnamdi Azikwe Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, titled
‘Global health: issues, challenge and management’ and Dr. I. E. Anigbogu of the faculty of Law,
Madonna University, Okija, which is ‘Sex, Sexuality and Gender imbalance’.
Prof Linus opined that “Global health has emerged as a
growing field, particularly over the past two decades. Greater recognition of
the global AIDS crisis, combined with the appearance and rapid international
spread of epidemics such as SARS, anthrax, the Ebola virus, swine flu (H1N1),
etc., have reinforced that health threats transcend national borders. While
much of the media attention has focused on epidemic of infectious diseases,
poverty, environmental pollution and degradation, social inequalities, global
health looks at a wider scope of health problems, determinants, and solutions,
such as chronic illnesses, accidents and
injuries. Other global health challenges include but not limited to poverty,
environmental and health emergencies, gender violence and abuse, substance use
and abuse, sex and sexuality, infant and maternal mortalities, terrorism etc”.
The Issues are that “For instance, health care systems
are still neither available nor accessible (when and if available) to a great
many people in Nigeria; infrastructural decay is common in the available
health care systems; non-communicable diseases (such as cardiovascular
diseases, cancer, diabetes and chronic lung diseases) are still major threats
to Nigerians between the ages of 30 and above; hundreds of children under the
age of 5 die from malnutrition, diarrhoea, measles, respiratory diseases and
mostly preventable diseases, each year. It is on records that millions of
people die of infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, pneumonia, diarrhoea,
tuberculosis and malaria annually”.
“The biggest challenge in global health” said Prof
Linus “is the lack of financial resources to combat the multiple scourges
ravaging the world's poor and sick. Today, more funds are needed for pressing
heath issues than ever before. Furthermore, funds are needed to support
research, build health facilities, train more health personnel, build capacity
and competence among health care providers……..”.
On the management he said “For the world to
begin to address health issues, three principles of action should be
considered, conditions of daily life have to be improved --- the conditions in
which people are born, grow up, live, work and age; the inequitable
distribution of power, money, and other resources has to be tackled; the
structural drivers of those conditions of daily life globally, nationally,
and locally; and problems have to be
measured, actions evaluated, knowledge base expanded; a workforce that is
trained in the social determinants of health has to be developed, and a public
awareness has to be raised about the social determinants of health. He also added Millennium Development Goals.
Many papers were presented on topical and current
contemporary global health issues which include some of th following, safe
motherhood, child survival strategies, sex and sexuality, Malaria, substance
use and abuse, poverty and health, environmental health in emergencies, etc. The
conference was well attended by FUTO principal officers, academia, and
participants across the nation, students inclusive.
Aisha Aminu, a participant from Umaru Musa Yar’adua
University, Katsina has this to say “the papers presented are well packaged and
timely, most especially those on gender inequality. Though I was pessimistic on
coming; but my coming prove to be worth, and beneficial. I appreciate the
organizers of the conference”. For Ugobo Emmanuel, 400 level student of Public
Health, university of Calabar he said “ I gained a lot especially those issue
on safe motherhood, gender imbalance and others which were touched in the
communiqué issued, which are all for the promotion of public health, I am
happy”.
Abdullahi Mustapha, from Sa’adatu Rimi college of Education,
Kumbotso, Kano who present 2 papers had this to say on the conference “I
appreciate the way the conference was organized, many participants across the
nation came, we interact, educative papers were discusses and solution
proffered”.
For John Kilakime, 500 level, Environmental Health
Technology “As an environmental health student, my eye is now to the current
global health issues, as there is no one single profession that has exclusive
monopoly over how the problems could be solve, all disciplines are important.
My interest in the conference is on environmental health in emergencies, for
wherever there is an emergency, environmental health issues shall arise, like
sanitary condition, water supply, food supplementation, food hygiene, etc.,
heavy metal resistance in microbes, health care financing & poverty and
safe motherhood”.
At the end of the conference, a communiqué was produced which
emphasizes among others the importance of safe motherhood, the challenges of
drugs and alcohol abuse, established relationship between poverty and ill health,
improper waste disposal practice; and recommends among others the need for
greater involvement of stakeholders in the promotion of public and
environmental health, empowerment of women, address inadequate distribution of
health facilities and improved budget allocation to health.
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