The Universal World Health Policy - Research Paper Example

?Laws and its Relevance to Global issues on HIV, Mental Health, & Substance and Alcohol Abuses The universal world health policy, as set by the World Health Organization (WHO), has reflected an extensive system, plan and implementing procedure aimed at developing proper response mechanism to major health issues affecting the general well-being and welfare of the world. Such is in accordance to WHO’s global health care goals and the outlined priorities in accord to short and medium term plans as well as the distributed roles amongst groups who are stakeholders of international health program. All these efforts are integrated in the Millennium Development Goals, set in 2000, which prioritized the sexual and reproductive health and mental health as essential requisite to achieve global development. MDG, which is adopted among member states of United Nations (UN), is a framework aimed to deliver time-bound targets for global healthcare by 2015 (WHO, 2011). Information in AIDS/HIV Cases WHO, UNAIDS and UNICEF (2011) reports pointed that there is an increasing number of persons infected of HIV from 29.5 million in 2002 to 34 million in 2010. Last year, averages of 2.7 million were newly infected and about 1.8 million are considered dying. Of those diagnosed positive of HIV, about 35% are pregnant women. WHO, UNAIDS and UNICEF (2011) further bared that, as part of the response, there are now 22,400 facilities worldwide providing antiretroviral therapy and about 6,650,000 number of adult and 456,000 children patients are benefiting said therapy in 2010. The coverage of antiretroviral medicines for preventing mother-to-child transmission was also increased to 48% in 2010 as compared to 9% last year (WHO, 2011). While indicators showed that the HIV-related death declined from 2.2 million in 2005 to 1.8 million in 2010, but the increased number of infected persons worldwide and the percentile of transmission, there remained a challenged to sustain and expand the coverage, quality and accessibility of interventions (WHO, 2011; Mead, 2011). Authorities recognized the need to scale up core programmatic activities by working in synergy with other sectors to further reduce the HIV-infected persons to 7.4 million and fewer death rates by 2020 (WHO, 2011).Such is inclusive of the increasing the efficiency of new delivery of services. This however requires an optimized yearly budget of US 7-9 billion in addition to allocated $15 billion (WHO, 2011). Health experts must likewise encourage patients or infected persons to seek or access medical services and to improve the system of intervention to ensure that affordable and quality services are accorded specially to remote rural areas and population considered as infested with high-risk infection or transmission e.g. sub-Saharan Africa and Rwanda (p. 22). The latter covered transgender, sex workers, people injected with drugs, migrants and prisoners. In the improvement of the delivery of services, WHO (2011) and partner institutions, need to streamline and coordinate systems to diversify the services that will motivate people to access health services for harm reduction, reproductive health, TB management and other transmissible infections. The system must allow greater communication; strengthen referral system; and holistic epidemiological profiles—inclusive of critical situation associated with aging, poor nutrition, sanitation problems and psychiatric ailment (WHO, 2011). Mental health & developmental disability Development is impossible if people are beset of mental health problems, as this hinders the development of human potential to work productively. Thus, the need to support health programs for mental health development. This is essential as an integrated part of the effective and quality healthcare and prevention program. Health experts assert that better mental health is significant for poverty reduction, human capital development, and service delivery (WHO, 2011). It is a human right. In this advocacy, WHO-MIND (2011) worked to investigate and stop human rights violations in mental health facilities; formulate mental health as fundamental component of respecting human rights and health care; support legislation of mental health policies and strategic plans to enable national authorities to prioritize and integrate mental health actions for people; provide right treatment, and support through better mental health services and utilization of community resources. (WHO-AIMS, 2009).Through this, people will be able to avail treatment to make their lives useful for their families and society. Health advocates likewise sustain their works to gain more recognition for mental health in international and national development agendas. As of these days there are about 31 countries worldwide that have been undertaking programs, most of which are in emerging countries, although only about half of the 42 countries have legislated policies for mental health care (WHO-AIM, 2009, p 7). To cite an example, Chile prioritized the legislation that protects and promotes human rights of people with mental disorders (WHO-AIM, 2009). In so doing, policies in Chile are reviewed, amended and legislated to integrate mental health care in their national Health Code. In Gambia, Portugal and Ghana, policies advocacy for effective and humane progressive mental health care were undertaken in the last decade (WHO-AIM, 2009). WHO likewise developed an Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS) which is significant to collect indispensable information on the mental health system of a country or region. The tool aimed to improve mental health systems and to generate better baseline monitoring needed for intervention. The criterion for mental health in emergencies plan focused in regions exposed to extreme stressors like zones with conflict situation, with internally displaced persons, disaster survivors, and in areas experiencing terrorism or war-exposed populations (WHO-AIM, 2009). They all needed psychosocial and emotional therapy to address serious impact of trauma. As part of the process, WHO (2011) viewed the significance of involving the communities, families and consumers as component of community health management, other than ensuring access of psychotropic medicines and the need to increase facilities that would address patients seeking treatment for substance use disorders, schizophrenia, mood disorders, neurotic disorders and personality disorder. They also recognize the need to increase the number of health workforce for mental health to improve the efficiency of service and coverage. On Drug & Alcohol Abuse Aside from mental and transmissible diseases, international heath body are likewise interested to address problems on the prevalence drug addiction and of excessive alcohol drinking because these has serious physical and mental consequences of those who became addicted to substance abuse (WHO, 2011) The hazardous use of psychoactive substance e.g. alcohol and illicit drugs have consequential negative impact to behavioral, cognitive, and physiological parts of a person (WHO, 2011). Such render them as liabilities and makes them menace to the society. Thus, the need to rehabilitate and restore the state of health of these affected individuals. Substance and alcohol abuse are considered as behavioral disorders that can lead to impairment or disability. Preventive mechanism must include sub-clinical conditions, risk and protective factors for such special kind of behavioral disorders. Experts have viewed the significance of addressing substance and alcohol abuse by harmonizing stakeholders, establishment of global coordinating group and resource mobilization to integrate behavioral disorders as essential part of primary care. WHO (2011) reported that about 2.5 million died yearly due to this, of which about 320,000 or 9% youths, between the age 15 to 29, die of alcohol-related causes, resulting in 9% of all deaths in that age group. Statistics further bared that a minimum of 15.3 million persons have drug use disorders in 148 countries where most of these nations (120 countries) are reported to have HIV infected population (WHO, 2011). This behavioral problem has associated concerns on issues relating to violence, child abuse and often results to negligence of works. Conclusion Global health management requires legislation and enforcement of laws to integrate and systematize intervention for HIV, mental health and substance and alcohol abuses. Such will determine certainty for health care management, developing access of medical supports, participation of stakeholders down to the community level, and to strategize the localization of health program. Policies can set forth priorities and developmental agenda in all member nations. This means that health management requires governance to catalyze and sustain the political momentum of health intervention. Laws also encourage stakeholders, including civil societies, to be involved in the responses for the global well-being in their respective country. It also promote and extol an integrated framework for health plan as part of the component of the social services in each nation that will hopefully decrease HIV-infected persons, mental health problems as well as in substance and alcohol abuses. References Chan, Margaret; Sidibe, Michel; & Lake, Anthony. 2011, Global HIV/AIDS Response; Epidemic update and health sector progress towards Universal Access. Progress Report 2011, World Health Organization, UNAIDS and UNICEF, United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland. Over, Mead, 2011, Transitioning to an AIDS-Free Generation: Why Helping People Live Longer Won't End the Disease. Foreign Affairs. Counil fo Foreign Relations. Dec 8, pp 1-2 WHO, 2011, The WHO MIND country summary series. Mental Health Improvement forNationas Develeopment: The WHO MIND Project. United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, pp. 1-6. WHO-AIMS, 2009, Mental health systems in selected low-and middle-income countries: a WHO-AIMS cross-national analysis. United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, pp. 1-102. WHO, 2011, Summary Report of the 1st Meeting of the International Advisory Group for the Revision of ICD-10 Mental and Behavioral Disorders. United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland. WHO, 2011, Management of substance abuse: Facts and Figures. United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland Read More