As the world faces a new decade from January 2020, it is expected that there are new and emerging health challenges that face the world. Some of these challenges may have been inherited from the last decade.
Consequently, the United Nations Health Agency, the World Health Organization, has listed 13 priority health challenges that should concern member states for the next decade.
In a release by WHO-DG, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the list was said to have been developed by experts around the globe. An obvious reflection from the list is that world leaders are not investing enough into the health of the people putting “lives, livelihoods, änd economies in jeopardy.”
The statement read in part:
“We need to realize that health is an investment in the future. Countries invest heavily in protecting their people from terrorist attacks, but not against the attack of a virus, which could be far more deadly, and far more damaging economically and socially. A pandemic could bring economies and nations to their knees. Which is why health security cannot be a matter for ministries of health alone.”
The list, which is varied, is not listed in any order of priority and many are intertwined. WHO described the challenges as urgent.
Below is the WHO’s list of urgent global health challenges for the new decade:
- Climate change
- Conflict and crisis
- Inequality
- Access to medicines
- Infectious diseases
- Epidemics
- Harmful products
- Health workers
- Adolescent health
- Public trust
- New technologies
- Antibiotic resistance
- Clean health care
The release called on national governments to invest more in health and support the most vulnerable countries to close identified gaps in health systems.
WHO-DG also encouraged partners to work together to be able to surmount the challenges ahead. He reminded all stakeholders that the United Nations had declared the next 10 years as the decade of action towards the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals.
The WHO Secretary-General concluded:
“There are no shortcuts to a healthier world. 2030 is fast approaching, and we must hold our leaders accountable for their commitments.”
You can read more about the global health priorities on WHO website.
