Lectures curated around the issues and challenges of global health, and that examine the diseases that kill more people each year than conflict alone. break - One billion people lack access to health care systems. - Around 11 million children under the age of 5 die from malnutrition and mostly preventable diseases, each year. - In 2002, almost 11 million people died of infectious diseases alone, far more than the number killed in the natural or man-made catastrophes that make headlines. - UNAIDS estimates for 2007 that there are roughly 32.8 million living with HIV, 2.5 million new infections of HIV, 2 million deaths from AIDS. - There are 8.8 million new cases of Tuberculosis (TB) and 1.75 million deaths from TB, each year. - 1.6 million people still die from pneumococcal diseases every year, making it the number one vaccine-preventable cause of death worldwide. More than half of the victims are children. - Malaria causes more than 300 million acute illnesses and at least 1 million deaths, annually. - More than half a million people, mostly children, died from measles in 2003 even though effective immunization costs just 0.30 US dollars per person, and has been available for over 40 years.
Epidemiologist Joel Schwartz is noted for his work on the acute and chronic health effects of fossil fuel air pollution. One of his recent collaborative studies revealed that exposure to fine combustion particles in the air at concentrations well below current standards are associated with a range of conditions, including dementia, asthma, heart attacks, and lung cancer. The study indicated that the death rate from this pollution is almost 1 in 5 deaths worldwide, about twice the previous mortality estimate. Not surprisingly, the pollution impact falls disproportionately on poorer communities. This research is finally leading to tighter U.S. air quality standards. In this program, Dr. Schwartz discusses the wide health effects of fossil fuel pollution and why restrictions have been so lax.
Vitamin D is important for bone and muscle strength, but the belief that it significantly reduces the risk of heart disease, cancer and numerous other conditions is questionable. Although Vitamin D supplements are still widely used, well designed studies have established that the supplements are not needed by most people. Moderate sunshine and normal diets provide adequate vitamin D for most people. Dr. JoAnn Manson led one of the largest and most cited randomized trials that contradicted the belief that vitamin D supplements are a cure-all. In this discussion she explains why there has been confusion about vitamin D. She also addresses the importance of the structure of scientific studies in determining the effects of medications and supplements.
In his newest book, Sandro Galea emphasizes that the field ofpublic health is committed as much to preventing disease as to treating it. Public health includes the social factors that frame our lives: social inclusion, economic security, political stability, adequate diet, access to education, and other factors that affect well-being. Dr. Galea discusses the necessity of rational policies that create social stability and comfort. Developing the foundation for genuine public health requires more effective communication –and elimination of misinformation and vitriol-- in a process he calls radical incrementalism.
Dr. Alawode Oladele discusses his work on fighting AIDS. Georgia Perimeter College presents Dr. Alawode Oladele, CEO of Premiere International Health Care.
Lara Santoro, a veteran journalist, discusses her first novel, *Mercy*, a tragic and powerful story of what it is like to die of AIDS in Africa. *Mercy* offers a glimpse into the role played by the pharmaceutical industry and the US government against the interests of an entire continent, and gives a name and face to the AIDS epidemic in Africa. This is a story Santoro has seen played out many times in her prize-winning coverage of Africa for *Newsweek* and the *Christian Science Monitor*. Her work has also appeared in *The Wall Street Journal*, *The New Republic* and the *London Sunday Times*.
A panel of experts discuss the global health crisis, focusing on child survival. This lecture is part two in a three part series of discussions from the National Press Foundation's "Increasing Health Risks in Our Globalized World: A Conference for Journalists." Within discussions of increasing health risks in a globalized world, Nils Daulaire, president and CEO, Global Health Council, provides an overview of global health crises. Neff Walker, senior project officer of the Strategic Information Section at UNICEF and coauthor of a Lancet study analyzing the costs involved in saving six million children annually, talks about child survival worldwide. Jeffrey Griffiths, MD MPH&TM, and director of graduate programs in public health at Tufts School of Medicine, discusses the threat posed by waterborne diseases and contaminated and stagnant water. Colleen Mone Hardy, a field epidemiologist with the International Rescue Committee, adds from-the-ground assessments, focusing on how Katrina compares with other health crises.
A panel of experts open discussions of increasing health risks in a globalized world by talking about possible future pandemics, including the Avian Flu. This lecture is part one in a three part series of discussions from the National Press Foundation's "Increasing Health Risks in Our Globalized World: A Conference for Journalists." Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and associate director of the Department of Homeland Security's National Center for Food Protection and Defense, provides an overview of the avian flu. Rex Archer, president of the National Association of County and City Health Officials discusses American preparations for avian flu and other pandemics, while Olusoji Adeyi, coordinator of Public Health Programs at The World Bank, provides an international perspective on preparation and the need to improve health in developing countries in order to reduce risk of pandemics.
Philip J. Hilts, health and science reporter and author of the companion book for the PBS *Rx for Survival* series, speaks at a supplemental public outreach event sponsored by the series. These events raise public awareness in an era of international travel, where communicable diseases know no borders. Here, Philip J. Hilts takes a look at what is working in public health around the world, and why we have cause for hope.
Milton Tectonidisas and Jonathan Spector describe Plumpy'nut, a revolutionary new approach that Doctors Without Borders is using to treat malnourishment in Niger; and they discuss what this technique could mean for how the organization will respond to nutritional crises and famine in the future. Doctors Without Borders has traditionally treated malnourished children through both supplementary feeding centers for the moderately malnourished and inpatient therapeutic feeding centers for the most severely malnourished. The organization is now moving toward a new approach, enabling medical teams to reach tens of thousands more children. Thanks to a new therapeutic nutritional technology called Plumpy'nut, Doctors Without Borders now treats severely malnourished children on an outpatient basis, allowing children to return home when they would normally be hospitalized. With the help of Plumpy'nut, Doctors Without Borders has a 90% cure rate in its outpatient programs in Niger and has treated 40,000 children so far in 2005.
