International Health Organizations Homework Help

International Health Organizations

International health or global health is a field that deals with health care across national or regional boundaries. It usually places more emphasis on public health. There are various organizations that deal with international health among them United Nations, World Health Organization, Pan American Health Organization, United States Agency for International Development and US Department of Global Health Council. Most of the organizations that deal with global health are usually non-governmental organizations providing health sector development or direct health care in different nations. In this paper, I will attempt to look at the roles of the above named organizations in dealing with Global Health.
2.0 Discussion
2.1 World Health Organization
WHO has various core functions that account for its roles. One of the roles is that it assesses the health trends while monitoring the health situation globally. In addition, it provides leadership on critical matters pertaining to health and also partners with other organizations in cases where joint action is required (World Health Organization, n.d.). It also sets standards and norms in global health while also monitoring and promoting their implementation, shapes the agenda of research stimulating the generation, dissemination and translation of essential knowledge, promotes evidence-based policies and lastly catalyses change providing technical support together with ensuring that institutions with sustainable capacity have been built. These roles ensure that WHO promotes development, fosters health care, strengthens health systems, enhances partnership, improves performance and harnesses evidence, information and research.
2.2 United Nations
The United Nations through partnerships and alliances is able to reach out to millions of people who need health services. One of the partnerships is the Children’s health program that provides support in malaria and measles prevention and control and the eradication of polio (Markle, W., Fisher, M., and Smego, R. n.da). The World Health Organization is also an organ under the UN that deals with global health. The UN Millennium development Goals have also been critical in trying to stop the spread of HIV (World Federation of Public Health Associations, n.d). There are also other ways that the United Nations helps in creating a difference by promoting maternal and reproductive health, wiping out polio, responding to HIV/AIDS, eradicating smallpox, pressing for universal immunization, reducing child mortality, protecting consumer’s health and halting the spread of epidemics (United Nations, n.d.).
2.3 Pan American Health Organization
Pan American Health Organization is one of the oldest public health organizations being in operation for over 100 years. Its main aim has always been to improve the living standards and health of the people of America. PAHO is involved in promoting strategies that deal with primary health care with the aim of extending health services to all the people who need these services (Pan American Health Organization, n.d.). It also assists nations to fight with old diseases that may re-emerge. Some of these diseases are such as dengue, cholera and tuberculosis and also some new diseases such as the AIDS epidemic. The assistance given is in form of technical support which include social communication and education and support for other programs for the prevention of the transmission of communicable diseases. PAHO targets mainly the most vulnerable groups such as the children and mothers, the elderly, the poor, the workers, displaced persons and the refugees. PAHO is also tries to improve the safety of blood in America. PAHO mobilizes institutional, financial, and political resources to help cut the infant mortality by preventing about 25,000 deaths a year through application of a strategy that deals with Integrated Management of Childhood Illness. PAHO is also dedicated in the promotion of adequate sanitation, improvement of water supplies for drinking water and increased health care access for the poor emphasizing on equity.
2.4 United States Agency for International Development
United States agency for International Development is an agency that is involved with helping people overseas who are struggling to have a better life. It uses a small amount of the federal budget, about half of one percent of the budget, to provide humanitarian assistance in case of man-made or natural disasters, improving global health, education, environmental sustainability and food security, strengthening good governance and democracy and helping societies to recover from conflicts (USAID, n.d.). USAID is committed to preventing suffering by saving lives in the end creating a brighter future for families in developing nations. USAID aims at improving global health including maternal, reproductive and child health, reducing disease and abortion especially diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and malaria Markle, W., Fisher, M., and Smego, R. n.db). This is done by promoting field health programs to advance innovation and research in areas relevant to the agency’s objectives. The main areas of health that it deals with are family planning, environmental health, health systems, HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases and child and maternal health (USAID, n.d.).
2.5 US Department of Global Health
The United States Department of Global Health is the main agency involved in the protection of the health of the American people. It provides important human services for those who are able to help themselves. In co-ordination with other organizations, it combats communicable diseases such as influenza, polio, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis (US Department of Global Health, n.d). In addition, it also helps with the fight against non-communicable diseases. Some of the risk factors that bring about such disease are unhealthy diet, tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol and lack of exercise and the agency helps in educating the masses on the effects caused by these risk factors. It collaborates with other agencies to increase awareness about the health of refugees. The agency also deals with child and maternal health education. The agency also deals with the research on global water supply and safety of such water. Since many of the diseases are waterborne, ensuring that there is safe water would eradicate most of the diseases.
2.6 Global Health Council
The global health council has various initiatives that it uses in dealing with global health. These initiatives are such as the NCD initiative, the MNHCR initiative, and the HIV & Malaria initiative. The Global HIV/AIDS and Malaria initiative aims at promoting effective policy and sustained funding. It also stresses on the translation of evidence into sound policy by linking policy, research, and practice. The Maternal, Newborn, Child and Reproductive Health Initiative informs the U.S congress and administration on the advancement of MNHCR interventions and its linkages with other health sectors, commitments and investments, translating evidence into sound policy and also informing stakeholders, the global health community and the general public the importance of MNHCR. The Non-communicable and Chronic Diseases Initiative develops strategies to incorporate NCDs into the global health agenda advancing the communications and policy agenda. The initiative also examines the impact of NCDs in the community taking into consideration other health challenges. It also incorporates the voices of stakeholders and community leaders into the global dialogue helping them understand how the NCDs can relate to other development and health issues (Global Health Council, n.d.).
3.0 Summary
All these organizations are involved in fighting the major global public health threats and problems. These problems and threats include infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, childhood diarrhea, childhood acute respiratory infections and new emerging infectious diseases, transition diseases, world hunger, refugee and displaced populations, maternal mortality, motor vehicle injuries and mortality, safety in the workplace, social and environmental determinants of public health and landmines. There are several milestones that have been achieved in the 20th century such as immunizations, pasteurization, control of infectious diseases, maternal child interventions, fluoridation of drinking water, family planning, safer and healthier foods.
4.0 Recommendations
There is more that still remains to be done on global health. The most effective way to deal with most of these issues would be for the organizations to partner or collaborate with each other in order to reach more people. The organizations should also increase the economic resources to dealing with health problems in the developing nations together with recruiting some of the people from these developing nations as they are better placed to understand the plight of their own people.

5.0 Reference List
Global Health Council. What We Do. Accessed 3rd January 2011 from: http://www.globalhealth.org/
Markle, W., Fisher, M., and Smego, R. n.d a. Understanding Global Health Chapter 1. Accessed 3rd January 2011 from: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/47566859/Understanding%20Global%20Health%20Chapter%201.pdf
Markle, W., Fisher, M., and Smego, R. n.d b. Understanding Global Health Chapter 14: Accessed 3rd January 2011 from: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/47566859/Understanding%20Global%20Health%20Chapter%2014.pdf
Pan American Health Organization. About PAHO. Accessed 3rd January 2011 from: http://www.paho.org/
United Nations. UN at a Glance. Accessed 3rd January 2011 from: http://www.un.org/english/
United States Agency for International Development. About USAID. Accessed 3rd January 2011 from: http://www.usaid.gov/
US Department of Global Health. About us. Accessed 3rd January 2011 from: http://www.globalhealth.gov/
World Federation of Public Health Associations. About us. Accessed 3rd January 2011 from: http://www.wfpha.org/
World Health Organization. About WHO. Accessed 3rd January 2011 from: http://www.who.int/en/