I feel like a soggy sponge- yes a soggy sponge. With a design background and limited knowledge of the global health field, I have approached these two weeks of training as a chance to learn, soaking in every bit of information presented to me. After 10 packed days of lectures and discussions, I am quite soggy.
Eric Goosby, past US AIDs Global Coordinator and current UN Secretary general special envoy for TB, gave light to a major shift in the Global Health Agenda- a shift to new efforts to achieve universal health coverage.
Goosby argues there has been a shift in building upon the MDGS (Millennium Development Goals) – the world’s eight development goals established by the UN in 2000 to address extreme poverty and its many facets- to the recently agreed upon SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). The SDGs place all non-communicable diseases under one umbrella and challenge global health to respond responsibly, being strategic in allocating resources rather than blanket cover countries. While these new goals have been set, the MDGs have yet to be acheived. Countries throughout Sub-Saharan Africa remain the countries with the highest disease rate- and the numbers are astounding when considering we have the resources to treat many of these diseases. “We know what works but we are not delivering.”
Some facts for the outsider:
Tuberculosis in Africa (2013)
9 million suffer from TB / year
1.5 million deaths from TB / year
Risk of African mother dying during pregnancy = 20 x Risk of American Mother
Every year 180,000 Children Infected with HIX during Birth/Pregnancy versus 0 in US and Europe
It’s astounding to realize this information. While treatments may have discovered, the global health world continues to struggle drastically to allocate such resources. Hopefully this will inform future trends- especially in the world’s approach to the SDGs. We can no longer afford to have a sequence of unsustainable responses. I am excited to be a part of these efforts and to join in the movement as a Global Health Corps Fellow and with the GHC team to work for health equity for all.
Eric Goosby, past US AIDs Global Coordinator and current UN Secretary general special envoy for TB, gave light to a major shift in the Global Health Agenda- a shift to new efforts to achieve universal health coverage.
Goosby argues there has been a shift in building upon the MDGS (Millennium Development Goals) – the world’s eight development goals established by the UN in 2000 to address extreme poverty and its many facets- to the recently agreed upon SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). The SDGs place all non-communicable diseases under one umbrella and challenge global health to respond responsibly, being strategic in allocating resources rather than blanket cover countries. While these new goals have been set, the MDGs have yet to be acheived. Countries throughout Sub-Saharan Africa remain the countries with the highest disease rate- and the numbers are astounding when considering we have the resources to treat many of these diseases. “We know what works but we are not delivering.”
Some facts for the outsider:
Tuberculosis in Africa (2013)
9 million suffer from TB / year
1.5 million deaths from TB / year
Risk of African mother dying during pregnancy = 20 x Risk of American Mother
Every year 180,000 Children Infected with HIX during Birth/Pregnancy versus 0 in US and Europe
It’s astounding to realize this information. While treatments may have discovered, the global health world continues to struggle drastically to allocate such resources. Hopefully this will inform future trends- especially in the world’s approach to the SDGs. We can no longer afford to have a sequence of unsustainable responses. I am excited to be a part of these efforts and to join in the movement as a Global Health Corps Fellow and with the GHC team to work for health equity for all.