The main change in the role of the World Health Organization (WHO) occurred in the 21st century, which was caused by the spread of communicable and non-communicable diseases. Previously, the focus of this organization was directed to researching, monitoring, and making recommendations on global diseases. The increasingly complex health problems led to the fact that international healthcare is at a remarkable point in history now (Jacobsen, 2019).
The improving technology and the opportunities for diagnosing and treating diseases should be seen as the relevant tools to help people all over the world (“The Global Health 2035 report”, n.d.). Regardless of the place of their birth and life, every person should have proper access to health services, which would prevent epidemics.
Today’s goal of the WHO is to integrate all countries in an attempt to achieve grand convergence that refers to helping low-income countries and using high-income ones as donors. Dr. Gavin Yamey states that there is a need to establish a collective approach to funding technology and health interventions (TEDx Talks, 2015). The key goal of the mentioned initiative is to reduce child and maternal deaths, thus saving about ten million lives annually.
Infectious diseases related to children and mothers are expected to be converged in both low- and high-income states by 2035 (“The Global Health 2035 report”, n.d.). Among the factors that largely contributed to the identified change, it is possible to note the growing population and spread of disease, as well as financial needs to handle them. The existing budgets and funding should be adjusted to accomplish this goal. It is also expected that grand convergence would provide immense payoff by reducing healthcare costs.
The countries need to collaborate to ensure that all the people are able to receive the necessary care services. For example, poorer states need assistance and guidance from richer countries that have experience in treating infections. At the same time, funding offered by high- and middle-income countries is critical for the entire world since those diseases that can potentially lead to epidemics may also affect them (TEDx Talks, 2015).
While working together towards grand convergence, the countries would be able to address those illnesses that can be handled via vaccination, such as measles, chickenpox, and so on. This is an easy and effective way to prevent further deterioration and deaths in children. Considering the growing resistance to vaccination, which is based on the perceived negative impacts of this intervention, the education of people cannot be overestimated (Jacobsen, 2019). Namely, the results achieved by developed countries in avoiding many diseases by means of vaccination should be clarified.
The adoption of cost-effective and progressive public health policies as well as finial aid to the WHO and poorer countries are two more activities that should be prioritized in terms of grand convergence. These activities imply that the investments in health research and practice would provide high returns due to the intrinsic value of better health (TEDx Talks, 2015). People who have fewer chronic conditions and diseases are less likely to need health services. Fiscal policies would also make a shift in the focus of healthcare, changing it towards non-communicable diseases since communicable illnesses would be minimized. It would also be useful to address the needs of the aging population and substance abuse issues, using fiscal policies and promoting better health outcomes.
References
The Global Health 2035 report. (n.d.). Web.
Jacobsen, K. H. (2019). Introduction to global health (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
TEDx Talks. (2015). Achieving a grand convergence in global health by 2035. Web.