The Effects of Poverty on the Impact and Spread of Infectious Disease - Literature review Example

The Effects of Poverty on the Impact and Spread of Infectious Disease The Effects of Poverty on the Impact and Spread of Infectious Disease Poor health has a direct relationship with poverty. Pathogenic microorganisms cause Infectious diseases. Pathogenic microorganisms include fungi, parasites, bacteria and viruses. Infectious diseases spread easily among people in a population. They spread from one individual to another either directly or indirectly (Skolnik, 2012, 186). Direct infection is through direct contact with an infected person while indirect infection is through media such as contaminated water, a dirty environment, overcrowding of individuals in a small area and lack of sanitation facilities in human residential areas. Examples of infectious diseases are Leprosy, malaria, tuberculosis, hepatitis A, B, C and D, Measles, Ebola haemorrhagic fever, cholera, influenza and small pox 90(WHO Report, 2012, 3). This paper focuses on tuberculosis, cholera and Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV), since they spread further in conditions of poverty. Poverty is rampant in developing countries. The United Nations defines poverty as living below globally accepted wage levels. 1.2 billion people today live on less than US $ 1.25 per day (UNDP, 2014, n.p.). The Multidimensional Index drafted by UNDP further stipulates that 1.5 billion people live in poverty, with direct negative effects on their health, living standards and education. Poverty has increased the mortality risk in most developing countries. Swaziland has the highest mortality risk for men at 45 years, compared to 65 years for men in Iceland (Julie, Markus & Chalupka, 2010, 1). Many developing countries strive to reduce poverty by implementing policies that empower their citizens financially. Financial empowerment enables members of the public to afford health care services that are essential in their lives such as maternity services, emergency services as well as access to preventive health care services such as vaccination. In addition to that, the public can afford cleaner water (UNAIDS, 2012, 14). Poverty reduction is among the Millennium Development Goals as drafted by the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations (UN, n.d., n.p.) Poverty Conditions that enhance the spread of infectious diseases Contaminated water A large percentage of the population in most developing countries does not have free flowing clean water. The people living in deplorable conditions in the slums face considerable challenges in getting clean water. This exposes them to infectious diseases such as cholera. Cholera is a disease that if left untreated can kill the infected individual within hours. Every year, there are between 3-5 million reported cases of cholera (WHO Report, 2012, 15). It arises from ingestion of contaminated water or food. The water or food has Vibrio cholera, a bacterium. Annually, more than 120000 individuals die from cholera (UN, n.d.). These statistics show that Cholera is a dangerous disease. Contaminated water increases chances of people contracting cholera because aside from the poor not affording access to clean water, they cannot access medical care the moment they contract cholera. There is need for developing countries to invest more in clean water for their people to reduce the rates of infections (Skolnik, 2012, 144). High health care fees Poor people cannot afford healthcare fees, since the prices of medicines and costs of consulting medical professionals remain high. This has a negative effect on the ability to combat the spread and control of infectious diseases. More than 1.5 billion people cannot afford basic health care services (UN, n.d., n.p.).Without access to proper health care, many individuals who contract infectious diseases cannot get proper treatment. Unfair economic arrangements in developing countries prevent access to affordable health care, which worsens health conditions for the poor (WHO Report, 2012, 47). A World Health Organization report undertaken in 2008 expects children in some African countries to live less than 50 years, compared to 80 years in Japan or Sweden, 72 years in Brazil and 63 years in India. These statistics indicate that more developed countries can afford treatment of their citizens than the poorer countries (WHO Report, 2012, 71) Culture and social practices Marginalized people are in most cases very poor since they do not have developed facilities. Through marginalization, these groups do not enjoy the basic facilities that the other sections of the population enjoy. By sharing facilities such as utensils and clothes, poor communities expose themselves to communicable diseases. Every year, approximately 20000 deaths from communicable diseases come from social practices and culture (UN, n.d., n.p.) Practices such as wife inheritance and circumcision with unsterilized sharp objects contribute to the spread of HIV (UNAIDS, 2012, n.p.). Such societies need to be educated on harmful cultural practices, since they pose considerable harm to the health of the people. Respective governments should develop all regions equitably to develop a more educated public that does not indulge in cultural practices that pose considerable danger to their well-being. Burden of care Poverty limits the amount of money accessible by people in a population. A family may only be able to fend for itself and no additional persons. Because of hard economic times, even families that do not qualify to be termed as poor find it difficult to cater for all their needs. Therefore, they face difficulty in providing either basic care of paying for health care services in a medical institution for their relatives who suffer from infectious diseases such as HIV (WHO Report, 2012, 83). This increases chances of their poor relatives infecting others with these diseases. On the same note, the infected people die because people who can take care of them neglect them. This contributes to a large percentage of the total fatalities every year from infectious diseases. In addition to that, governments of most developing countries have wrong priorities, therefore increasing the cost of living for their citizens (UN, n.d., n.p.). Overcrowding When a large population resides in a place, facilities and resources become strained. The poor people in the society struggle to acquire facilities such as water and clean food. Further, overcrowding increases chances of people contracting airborne diseases. One of the diseases that people contract due to overcrowding is tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is the second greatest killer of people after HIV. 8.6 million People contracted the disease in the year 2012. Further, approximately 1.3 people died from Tuberculosis in the same year (WHO Report, 2012, 37). Other infectious diseases such as cholera easily spread through overpopulation (UNDP, 2014, n.p). Despite Conclusion Poverty leads to people not affording the basic needs that they need to prevent infectious diseases (UNAIDS, 2012, 6). In order for countries to control and prevent the spread of infectious diseases, they need to control poverty. Controlling poverty will stop the cycle of infection that occurs due to lack of resources to both prevent and mitigate the effects of infectious diseases. International and National Barriers to Addressing the Impact and Spread of Infectious Diseases Every nation has the responsibility of providing the best health care to its citizens. In some cases, countries have joined hands to prevent further spread of infectious diseases. Currently, the international community is working towards containing the spread of the Ebola virus that has so far claimed more than 2050 lives in West Africa (UN, n.d., n.p.). Usually, countries cooperate to control major issues and threats with an international and cross border impact with regard to health. Currently, the international community has joined the most affected countries; Liberia, Nigeria, Guinea and Sierra Leone in fighting the disease, with the CDC dispatching a team of experts in health to expand the response activities currently in place (CDC, 2014, n.p). Some of the measures that countries take include controlling the movement of people and goods in and out of the country, thoroughly screening imports and visitors to the country and issuing travel advisories to its citizens. Many governments have issued travel advisories to their citizens, warning them of the disease. Some countries have signed agreements to work together to fight the spread of infectious diseases. An example of such an agreement is the treaty between member states of the European Union. A unifying legislation applicable in all the countries of the EU provided a list of the communicable diseases for focus by the EU network on epidemiological control and surveillance of diseases (UN, n.d, n.p). The EWC treaty Article 152, posits that member countries shall ensure high level of protection for human health by properly defining and implementing all activities and policies formed in the Community. To that effect, member countries mitigate the effects of threats before they become catastrophic through sharing information and technology (Ikanatha, 2013, 94). Many developing countries do not have similar agreements, exposing their citizens to infectious diseases. However, they cooperate with other countries to control the spread of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and Ebola. The United Nations prevails upon member countries to give priority to the health of the public (UN, n.d., n.p). Therefore, many countries allocate a considerable portion of their budgetary allocation to health to combating the spread of infectious diseases. Strategies and barriers faced by countries in controlling the impact and spread of infectious diseases are as discussed below. Strategy of sharing health values By sharing health values, countries ensure that they maintain global health standards. Sharing of information on health is one of the provisions proposed in the WHO disease control strategy (WHO Report, 2012, 91). This strategy ensures that countries are aware of merging threats and therefore can prevent cross-border infections (Kanki, 2013, 112). Sharing information among countries also involves sharing of technology and health care methods (UNAIDS, 2012). Countries that have agreed to share information share vaccines and other medication, improving chances of prevention of such diseases. However, lack of cooperation among countries is a barrier to this strategy. An example is countries in West Africa. Nigerian citizens caught the Ebola virus since the country’s medical professionals failed to take the necessary measures to prevent the spread of the disease into their country while Guinea health workers failed to recognize the disease at the early stages of its spread (CDC, 2014, n.p). Information sharing increases surveillance, enabling countries to detect infectious diseases in time (Ikanatha, 2013, 98). Investing in health Investing in health involves improving access to health centers. It is necessary that countries, especially developing countries, to increase the number of hospitals and dispensaries within their borders (WHO Report, 2012, 92). By increasing the number of health care centers, people can access preventive health care, therefore mitigating the spread of infectious diseases. More people acquire training on basic methods of disease control and prevention. In addition to that, people who have already contracted infectious diseases get treatment on time. Timely treatment reduces the chances of fatalities (CDC, 2014, n.p). Investment in health also involves increasing the number of trained medical caregivers and practitioners (UNAIDS, 2012, 31). The barrier in mitigation of the spread of infectious diseases is lack of enough funding to invest in health care. The UN and the World Bank Group has donated $1b towards investment in health care in developing countries, especially Africa (UNAIDS, 2012, n.p.). Development of health policies A major challenge faced by developing countries in unclear policies on health care. Lack of proper policies leads to lack of coordination of activities in disease prevention and control (Kanki, 2013, 109). The failure by most developing countries to give necessary attention to health matters by not providing proper health care legislation has contributed to the spread of HIV and other infectious diseases (WHO Report, 2012, 106). This limits access to medicine and vaccines by the public, leading to a reduction in human mortality (Julie, Markus & Chalupka, 2010, n.p). Developing countries lately adopt health policies from developed countries. Policies such as free and compulsory health care provision to the poor help to improve the health standards in a country (UNAIDS, 2012, 27). Another example of a health care policy is compulsory health insurance covers paid for by employers. In the case of the unemployed, the government can offer a substitute insurance cover (Skolnik, 2012, 183). This ensures more people access health care whenever they need to. The United Nations advocates for policies that improve the quality of life of all citizens of the world, regardless of their wealth status (WHO Report, 2012, 127). Governments should also have policies in place that advocate for better social amenities for the people. An example is access to clean water and sanitation for all citizens. Investing in research on health Countries need to enhance research in infectious diseases in order to find better ways of prevention and treatment. Lack of funding for research has contributed to the spread of infectious diseases in developing countries (WHO Report, 2012, 121). It is more expensive to treat infectious diseases that to prevent them. The current Ebola outbreak cost the economy of Liberia approximately $15 million between March and June this year (UN, n.d., n.p). Therefore, research should find better ways of prevention, especially among the poor. Governments should publish research findings so that the public implements the recommendations and practice preventive strategies (Kanki, 2013, 112). Ebola has a mortality rate of 90% (CDC, 2014, n.p). Successful research on the virus would help prevent outbreaks such as the current one. Governments should also develop facilities for research within their countries. The creation of research bodies helps in timely tests on infectious diseases as opposed to taking samples to other countries for testing. For instance, Malawi sends samples to the United States for testing and research. This increases the time taken to find out the cause of diseases, further delaying the implementation of necessary measures to prevent further spread (CDC, 2014, n.p.). Improvement of health systems Poor health systems cause many cases of fatalities from infectious diseases annually. According to the World Health Organization, 50000 people die annually from poor health systems (WHO Report, 2012, 152). One indication of a poor health system is bureaucracy. In many hospitals, a patient takes a lot of time to get booked into a hospital due to long and tedious processes such as confirmation of insurance details (Skolnik, 2012, 186). A favorable health system is one that allows cheap and timely health care services for all citizens (Ikanatha, 2013, 236). Countries are adopting the UN health care model as a way of ensuring that more people get access to health care (UNDP, 2014, n.p). References 2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa. (2014, August 15). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved August 16, 2014, from http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/guinea/ Global report UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic : 2012.. (2012). Geneva: UNAIDS. Global tuberculosis control surveillance, planning, financing : WHO report 2013. (2013). Geneva: World Health Organization. Human Development Reports. (n.d.). |. Retrieved August 19, 2014, from http://hdr.undp.org/en/2014-report Ikanatha, N. M. (2013). Infectious disease surveillance (2nd ed.). Chicester: Wiley-Blackwell. Julie, K., Markus, J., & Chalupka, A. (2010). Worldwide Mortality Rates for Men and Women aged 15-59 years, from 1970 to 2010: A Systematic Analysis. Health Journal, 375(9727), np. Kanki, P. J. (2013). Infectious diseases selected entries from the Encyclopedia of sustainability science and technology. New York: Springer. Skolnik, R. L. (2012). Global health 101 (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. United Nations Millennium Development Goals. (n.d.). UN News Center. Retrieved August 17, 2014, from http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/bkgd.shtml Read More