top of page
  • Writer's pictureStudents for Global Health UCL

What is Global Health?

‘Global Health’ is one of those terms, like culture or ethnicity that no-one really knows how to define.I’m sure to most people, the concept of Global Health conjures up images of doctors working in developing countries, tackling infectious diseases and providing emergency aid. Yet Global Health is not limited to the health issues of people in lower-income countries. In fact it is a discipline that incorporates all countries, irrespective of their income or geography. Put simply, it can be described as ‘an area of study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving health equity for all people worldwide’. 


Just one hundred years ago, most of the worlds population faced similar health issues; there was a high burden of infectious diseases, high death rate and short life expectancy. Recent years have seen significant progress in human health. Thanks to modern medicine, we are living longer and healthier. Yet whilst medical technology has advanced to the point where we can grow artificial organs and even create mitochondrial transfer IVF babies, the world still holds many people dying of preventable diseases. Global Health draws from a large number of academic disciplines to investigate why such vast disparities between and within countries still exist. 


As globalisation continues, the importance of international governance to address global health issues has never been more pertinent. The United Nations, government health authorities, non-governmental organisations, lobbyists and international businesses are only some of the important players in global health governance, highlighting not only its pluralist nature but also the extent of the multidisciplinary approach to talking challenges in global health. But who are these organisations? What do they stand for? How do they come together to develop public health policies? My next post will attempt to answer these questions and explain the complex system that is global health governance! 


0 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Current commitments on greenhouse gas emissions run out in 2020. So what next? Well just last week, governments of more than 190 nations gathered to discuss the new global agreement on climate change:

2015 has seen the war against sugar come to the forefront of the public health agenda in the UK. From the Change for Life ‘sugar swap’ campaign through to lobbying by TV celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, a

As we come to the end of Positively Red Week, we must remember that the fight against HIV/AIDs is not yet over. One of the biggest issues that needs to be overcome in order to bring an end to the pand

Post: Blog2_Post
bottom of page