It is said that wealth is health – and when people in a country are not healthy, civil strife and conflict can be exacerbated, such as in the current complex health emergencies in Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Money spent on global health is, in my opinion, the greatest investment. And because global diseases do not recognize national borders, it is everyone’s responsibility to invest in global health.
A prime example of diseases not recognizing national borders is the current outbreak of Dengue fever in the United States. Dengue and malaria, both mosquito-borne illnesses, were eradicated from the US during World War II, but recently we are seeing a resurgence in prevalence due to changing climate. Before this resurgence, not much research was being done in regards to research or drug development for dengue fever. However, now that this disease is beginning to affect richer countries, much more attention is being paid to this disease.
Where was this attention before the disease outbreak in the US? Answer: there wasn't any. There wasn't enough attention being paid to dengue fever, because it simply didn't affect people living in the developed world. Dengue fever is an example of neglected disease - a disease that affects a large population, but is neglected because that population resides in a poorer country.
And so, today there are more drugs for treating hair loss than there are drugs to treat neglected diseases. In fact, NINETY PERCENT of spending is for diseases that affect only TEN PERCENT of the population. How is this ethical?! We need to have an obligation to invest in neglected disease that affect over 1 billion people in the world.
Where's the activism in that? I don't see people changing their Facebook profile pictures in support of schistosomiasis. Instead, I see them changing their pictures in support of perpetuating white savior complexes.
My personal interest in global activism lies in fighting the injustices of war. In addition, we must stop romanticizing the concept of war. The development of the oxymoron “humanitarian war” has justified the suffering of civilians in war-torn areas. And the suffering of these people violates several articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, especially the fundamental human right to “the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health,” according to the WHO constitution. Howard Zinn describes in A People’s History of the United States his surprise at how American nationalism during times of war also justifies fighting the “enemy”. We call our involvement in the Middle East a “War on Terrorism,” yet how can we have a war on terrorism when war itself is terrorism?
In America, we also lead our children to believe that military heroism is the noblest form of heroism, but this creates an endless cycle of violence that is somehow justified by our beliefs. Furthermore, in the media, we see images of war heroes who sacrifice their lives in the name of righteousness, but the faces of the people and children who are killed by these “heroes” are almost never seen. A prime example of this is the impact of drone attacks by the United States in the Middle East, which destroyed many homes, lives and access to basic services. Additionally, people, especially children, who are physically and mentally traumatized by leftover landmines as a consequence of war are rarely given a face in the media either. This “good guy versus bad guy” mentality misleads people into feeling a sense of necessity and legitimacy for war because it is for the beneficial interest of everyone. The reality is that there is no “good guy” or “bad guy,” only preventable or at least treatable casualties.
A prime example of diseases not recognizing national borders is the current outbreak of Dengue fever in the United States. Dengue and malaria, both mosquito-borne illnesses, were eradicated from the US during World War II, but recently we are seeing a resurgence in prevalence due to changing climate. Before this resurgence, not much research was being done in regards to research or drug development for dengue fever. However, now that this disease is beginning to affect richer countries, much more attention is being paid to this disease.
Where was this attention before the disease outbreak in the US? Answer: there wasn't any. There wasn't enough attention being paid to dengue fever, because it simply didn't affect people living in the developed world. Dengue fever is an example of neglected disease - a disease that affects a large population, but is neglected because that population resides in a poorer country.
And so, today there are more drugs for treating hair loss than there are drugs to treat neglected diseases. In fact, NINETY PERCENT of spending is for diseases that affect only TEN PERCENT of the population. How is this ethical?! We need to have an obligation to invest in neglected disease that affect over 1 billion people in the world.
Where's the activism in that? I don't see people changing their Facebook profile pictures in support of schistosomiasis. Instead, I see them changing their pictures in support of perpetuating white savior complexes.
My personal interest in global activism lies in fighting the injustices of war. In addition, we must stop romanticizing the concept of war. The development of the oxymoron “humanitarian war” has justified the suffering of civilians in war-torn areas. And the suffering of these people violates several articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, especially the fundamental human right to “the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health,” according to the WHO constitution. Howard Zinn describes in A People’s History of the United States his surprise at how American nationalism during times of war also justifies fighting the “enemy”. We call our involvement in the Middle East a “War on Terrorism,” yet how can we have a war on terrorism when war itself is terrorism?
In America, we also lead our children to believe that military heroism is the noblest form of heroism, but this creates an endless cycle of violence that is somehow justified by our beliefs. Furthermore, in the media, we see images of war heroes who sacrifice their lives in the name of righteousness, but the faces of the people and children who are killed by these “heroes” are almost never seen. A prime example of this is the impact of drone attacks by the United States in the Middle East, which destroyed many homes, lives and access to basic services. Additionally, people, especially children, who are physically and mentally traumatized by leftover landmines as a consequence of war are rarely given a face in the media either. This “good guy versus bad guy” mentality misleads people into feeling a sense of necessity and legitimacy for war because it is for the beneficial interest of everyone. The reality is that there is no “good guy” or “bad guy,” only preventable or at least treatable casualties.