Correct

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres “called on all sectors of society to mobilize for a decade of action on three levels in order to generate an unstoppable movement pushing for the required transformations:

1. global action to secure greater leadership, more resources and smarter solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals;
2. local action embedding the needed transitions in the policies, budgets, institutions and regulatory frameworks of governments, cities and local authorities;
3. and people action, including by youth, civil society, the media, the private sector, unions, academia and other stakeholders;”

You can find Secretary-General Guterres’ remarks here.

Correct

These accomplishments show that the global health community has clearly made incredible strides in recent decades.

The World Economic Forum points to a ‘paradox’ in the state of global health, with many massive success stories such as those above that coexist with many large, important challenges that still remain, as demonstrated by the next question in this quiz.

Correct

While there has been tremendous progress in many areas of public health, there are a myriad of problems that still face the global health community.

As the World Economic Forum points out, some of these issues demonstrate “grotesque inequalities between rich and poor countries,” such as child mortality rates, while others are “worrying trends even in the wealthy world,” such as NCDs.

Correct

According to the WHO’s publication, World Health Statistics 2019: Monitoring health for the SDGs, “recent years have seen improvements in 24 (56%) of the 43 health-related SDG indicators… However, at a global level, progress has stalled or trends are in the wrong direction for five of those 43 indicators: road traffic mortality, children overweight, malaria incidence, alcohol consumption, water sector ODA… Nine of the health-related SDG indicators have explicit targets for 2030, but only two of those indicators are on track to meet 2030 targets,” those being two indicators for SDG 3.2 (under-5 mortality and neonatal mortality).

The report finds that progress towards SDG 3.3, malaria incidence, is stalled. The RBM Partnership to End Malaria explains the link between malaria and the SDGs, even beyond SDG 3.3: “Ending malaria saves lives and unlocks human potential. Investing in malaria prevention and elimination means investing in healthier and more prosperous societies. Efforts to prevent, control and eliminate malaria both contribute to and benefit from sustainable development. The objectives of reducing the disease burden and eliminating malaria are intrinsically linked to most of the SDGs. Global progress against malaria has stalled and requires a country-driven response to support the hardest-hit nations to get efforts back on track… For the second year in a row, WHO’s annual World Malaria Report indicated that the number of malaria cases has plateaued after falling steadily for the previous 5 years. According to the new report, the number of cases rose from 217 million in 2016 to 219 million in 2017.” The RBM Partnership also has resources showing the link between malaria and gender, climate change, food security, and other topics that can be found here.

To learn more about the SDGs referenced above, and their indicators, visit these links:

·         SDG 3.2

·         SDG 3.3

·         SDG 6

·         SDG 2.2

Correct

UNAIDS estimates that 37.9 million people globally were living with HIV at the end of 2018, more than ever before, making AIDS one of the biggest health and development threats of our time. UNAIDS and GBCHealth are urging businesses to actively help to refocus attention, action and commitment to fulfill the vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths by 2030. Learn more here.

Unlike most other health crises, HIV largely affects people in the prime of their life. Nine out of ten people living with HIV are adults in their most productive years. Without proper care and support, people living with HIV may be unable to work, may need extended periods of time off work and often incur significant out-of-pocket health-care costs. The epidemic slows economic growth, threatens the futures of workers and employers. HIV takes a direct toll on markets, investments, services and education.

Correct

According to WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s list of 13 challenges, which can be found here, “reflects a deep concern that leaders are failing to invest enough resources in core health priorities and systems. This puts lives, livelihoods and economies in jeopardy. None of these issues are simple to address, but they are within reach. Public health is ultimately a political choice…With the deadline for the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals quickly approaching, the United Nations General Assembly has underscored that the next 10 years must be the “decade of action“.

Correct

One in four HCFs lack basic water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, impacting over 2 billion people. This is according to a 2019 report by WHO and UNICEF, WASH in Health Care Facilities, which is the first comprehensive global assessment of WASH in HCFs.

The report also finds that one in five health care facilities has no sanitation service at all, impacting 1.5 billion people. Mothers and newborns are among the most vulnerable to problems arising from inadequate WASH in HCFs. Far too little attention is given to this immense, yet solvable, crisis, making it a clear target of opportunity for global health and development efforts. Read more here.

These unacceptable conditions and their implications in many countries today have not been lost on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. He issued a Global Call-to-Action for WASH in Health Care Facilities, and his spotlight on this crisis has inspired a comprehensive UN-led global implementation strategy with ambitious targets for action, as well as a Resolution on WASH in Health Care Facilities, adopted unanimously by member states of the World Health Assembly.

Correct

We are entering a vital decade armed with many relatively new technologies that each holds immense potential to improve health.

Per Health Data Management:

• Over the next 10 years, AI will be increasingly integrated into routine clinical practice, significantly impacting the delivery of healthcare… AI algorithms and machine learning are being developed today to help clinicians quickly sift through big data to diagnose diseases early and determine the best treatment options for patients that will improve health outcomes.
• The implementation of remote patient monitoring by leveraging connected and wearable devices, sensors and trackers will be the platforms that gather patient-generated health data to facilitate disease management and patient engagement.
• Significant improvements in the exchange of patients’ clinical information should become a reality in the 2020s. App developers, health IT vendors and providers have widely embraced [a new set of interoperability standards] to help solve the interoperability challenges confronting the healthcare industry as it seeks to increase access to electronic health records and data sharing.

Patients and clinicians generally want more communication and interaction, and technology is expected to help enable that in the 2020s.