It’s another year and the World Health Organisation (WHO) has released the list of health complications that might affect your year.
Check out the list below:
Air pollution and climate change
If you live in the Niger-Delta zone of Nigeria or in any part of Nigeria, you will know of the air emission, the calls for the rescue from soot and the little or no efforts of the government. Air pollution
Dengue
With the new climate change, it has rained in Nigeria twice this year already. One of the causes for alarm is the rise of mosquitoes and malaria. WHO has stated that aside this, a mosquito-borne disease called Dengue will be on the rise this year. Dengue has flu-like symptoms and can be deadly. This disease affects over 390 million people each year.
Vaccine Hesitancy
WHO describes it as the reluctance to get vaccinated despite its availability. While there are several key reasons including the beliefs and culture in Nigeria, this is threatening to disrupt the efforts to get rid of some diseases across the nation and in the world. Yet, WHO writes,
“Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective ways of avoiding disease — it prevents 2–3 million deaths a year, and a further 1.5 million could be avoided if global coverage of vaccinations improved.”
Influenza pandemic
Brace yourselves,
“The world will face another influenza pandemic – the only thing we don’t know is when it will hit and how severe it will be. Global
defences are only as effective as the weakest link in any country’s emergency response system,”
the WHO wrote. The complications that come with the Influenza A and B viruses, can lead to bacterial pneumonia and death.
Noncommunicable diseases
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are chronic, non-transmittable diseases that have led to the deaths of over 70% of all global deaths. They are a resultant effect of genetic, physiological, behavioural, and environmental factors. According to WHO, some of these deaths are linked to tobacco use, physical inactivity, the harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets and air pollution.
People in fragile and vulnerable settings due to crises
Nigeria easily falls under this category. WHO mentions that those who live in vulnerable settings will face health crises including the ones listed above. Why it is difficult to control at the moment is because of issues such as conflict, drought, poverty among others.
Antimicrobial resistance
Antibiotics are one of the miracles of medicine. Unfortunately, the WHO says that we are running out of antibiotics and the unavailability of this will cause antimicrobial resistance. What this means is that infections such as bacteria, fungi and parasites will thrive and might lead to more avoidable deaths.
Ebola and other high-threat pathogens
If you are living in Nigeria, you have probably heard of Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian who brought Ebola to Nigeria in 2014. This time saw Nigerians take their hygiene seriously such that close body contact became a taboo. This epidemic also led to the death of some Nigerians including Ameyo Adadevoh, the doctor who risked her life to save patients. To tackle this challenge, the WHO is getting invested in research and development to tackle Ebola and it’s health risks.
HIV
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was first discovered in 1980. Since then, the epidemic has continued to ravage societies around the world. With over 37 million people living with the virus and one million dying from the virus, it is of little wonder why the WHO is interested in it.
Ineffective or inadequate primary health care
The WHO defines primary health care as the first point of contact people have with a health care system. Primary health care should be able to
“provide comprehensive, affordable, community-based care throughout life,”
but this is usually not the case especially in low and mid-income countries.
WHO seeks to ensure in 2019 that the primary health care will not just be paid lip service to but will see more implementation.
Fragile and vulnerable settings
The WHO starts their report with this:
“More than 1.6 billion people (22% of the global population) live in places where protracted crises (through a combination of challenges such as drought, famine, conflict, and population displacement) and weak health services leave them without access to basic care.”
This description reminds us of those living under the bridge, creeks, swamps and places unconducive for humans to live in. This translates to the fact that maternal and child health will continue to be unmet. In this regard, WHO is dedicated to delivering quality health services to people.
