HIV/AIDS
Only several decades ago, HIV was regarded as a disease that could only strike minority or marginalized groups of the population (which concerned mostly homosexuals and drug addicts). This partially accounts for the fact that there was not enough research done on the topic. Very little attention was paid to preventive measures and ways of treatment. However, the attitude to the problem changed drastically when scientists realized that anyone could get infected. By the beginning of the 90s, there were already a lot of educational programs in schools aimed to teach children how to protect themselves against the spreading disease. The increase of awareness gave positive results: HIV diminished for a short while in wealthy countries. Despite this fact, today, there are about 50 million HIV positive people on the planet. Most of them are from Africa, which means that they have to survive in the worst possible conditions without any access to health services (Jones et al., 2014). Thus, the major challenge nowadays is to address the causes that underlie the occurrence of the disease. Since world science is unable to eliminate its consequences, it should seek ways to mitigate them, at least in the regions where they cost thousands of human lives.
SARS
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has been one of the most shocking recent events in public health. Despite unprecedented collaboration in the struggle against the disease, it was spreading at an enormous speed and immediately told on all spheres of life, including economy, tourism, and health systems. Even the most developed countries could not avoid the problem. The most horrifying facts about SARS were that, unlike other dangerous conditions, it was impossible to diagnose or treat and killed every six affected people. SARS put the global public health system on the alert and made specialists from all over the world forget their conflicts. 192 members of the World Health Assembly shared their experience in order to confront the common threat, which helped identify the symptoms of the disease. Now it is known that SARS can affect any person and is endemic, mostly in developing countries that cannot afford its treatment (Graham, Donaldson, & Baric, 2013). It means that despite the fact that the outbreak of the disease is over, it continues to take away human lives and has to be approached at the global level.
The Challenge of an Unhealthy Life-Style
Globalization, which has already proved to be helpful in addressing a lot of health issues, has also brought about a problem of an unhealthy lifestyle. Before the 21st century, cardiovascular diseases, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, tobacco and alcohol addictions, and many other life-style-related conditions had been typical only of industrially advanced countries. Nowadays, they are widely spread also in developing countries. It makes these countries suffer from infections and these conditions simultaneously. Obesity now ranks among the twenty most dangerous health risks on the planet. It has affected practically all nations and is fraught with the risk of developing diabetes, cancer, and other incurable diseases. Besides, obesity effects are in most cases coupled with sedentary jobs and total absence of physical activity. In 2002, a global program on diet, health, and physical fitness was introduced by the World Health Assembly. Nevertheless, the consumption of processed foods, saturated fats, sugar, salt, and other dangerous products is always on the increase (Farhud, 2015). There are a lot of movements aimed to support healthy habits but the problem can be solved only if the comprehensive governmental program is developed and launched.
References
Farhud, D. D. (2015). Impact of lifestyle on health. Iranian journal of public health, 44(11), 1442-1456.
Graham, R. L., Donaldson, E. F., & Baric, R. S. (2013). A decade after SARS: strategies for controlling emerging coronaviruses. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 11(12), 836-848.
Jones, A., Cremin, I., Abdullah, F., Idoko, J., Cherutich, P., Kilonzo, N., & Schwartlander, B. (2014). Transformation of HIV from pandemic to low-endemic levels: a public health approach to combination prevention. The Lancet, 384(9939), 272-279.