Previously infectious diseases previously caused the majority of ill-health and premature death globally, but in high- and middle-income countries during the 20.th century infectious diseases – with the exception of HIV – declined. Introduction of hygiene and discovery of microbes and later vaccines an antibiotics contributed to the decline, but changing living conditions with better housing, nutrition, water and sanitation were the main drivers of infectious diseases’ decline.

This session will expand the student´s knowledge about human health and quality of life in the context of global and local ecology. Examples will be provided on how environmental management and development influence human health. The session provide an overview of the disease burden attributable to the environment, and much of this burden is placed across different geographical regions of the world. Examples will be presented on the impacts of poor quality water, insufficient access to water, lack of appropriate sanitation and poor personal hygiene. Other examples of environmental health factors included relate to reduced forest cover, unsustainable agricultural production systems, climate change, and poor management of natural resources that significantly influence livelihood, food security and migration patterns.

This presentation provides an introduction to the principles of demographic and epidemiological transition with specific focus on how changes in life expectancy, socio-economic factors and life conditions will change the landscape of global disease burdens.

WHO has estimated that about 100 million people are driven below the poverty line every year because of out-of-pocket payments for health services. Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is a strategy to ensure that all people can use health services of sufficient quality to be effective, while the use of these services does not expose the user to financial hardship. UHC receives increasing global attention, strongly promoted by the WHO, and the strategy is a cornerstone of the global post 2015-agenda for health. In this video lesson we will discuss three central questions for achieving UHC: How to secure adequate financing for health, how to protect the poor from financial consequences of ill health, and how to encourage optimum use of resources.

This interview provides an introduction to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) regarding the global control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). The FCTC treaty is a response to the worry of member states, that tobacco is not decreasing but rather growing. Furthermore it is discussed how we can make sure people don’t start smoking or quit as early as possible.
Participants: Programme manager Kristina Mauer-Stender.

This presentation provides an overview of the major determinants and specific drivers of epidemiological transition and changes in disease burdens, including demographic factors, urbanisation, diet, economics, climate changes, disasters, health sector reforms, health care and health care technology.

Global Health Governance is how we create an organized response to health at the global level. Each country has its own health system, but health issues are become international, as people travel, and goods and services (for example tobacco sales) are becoming increasingly globalised, and challenges such as climate change have a wide reach. WHO has an important guiding role in the global health architecture, but it has limited funding and mandate to establish and implement legally binding acts.

This video on HIV in Global Health introduces the student to the origin, and major milestones in the HIV pandemic. Students will learn about scientific breakthroughs in HIV research including important trials. The video also provides insight into public health initiatives to limit the pandemic such as ART programs and different testing strategies. Finally the video sums up future challenges for ending the HIV pandemic.

The purpose of this video lesson is to expand the student's knowledge about the use and non-use of public health care facilities in low-income societies. Students will learn that a range of different factors, such as availability, accessibility, cost and quality of care play important roles when rural citizens take decisions about health care seeking. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Burkina Faso, West Africa, this lesson explains why public health care facilities in the global south sometimes are underutilized.

This presentation provides an introduction to the health implications of complex emergencies. In the light of research conducted in Guinea-Bissau and South Sudan, it is described how complex emergencies affects populations’ health and affected populations’ response to complex emergencies.

This presentation discusses how the political instability has an impact on health care services. It focuses upon a period in Uganda where the government health facilities were neglected resulting in the lack of adequate health care provision and access to medicines. Following the instability in the country, the development and management of its health care services was highly dependent on funding from external donors and significant international influence on national services, including health care programs.
Participants: Professor Susan Whyte.

This presentation provides an introduction to diarrheal diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites and other disease causing agents or pathogens. Furthermore, we’ll look at the range of syndromes associated with diarrhea and uncover two significant pathogens: rotavirus and vibrio cholera. Finally, we’ll delve into methods for managing diarrheal diseases and the significance of sanitation in preventing diarrheal diseases.

This presentation provides an introduction to infectious diseases like tuberculosis, vector-borne diseases, puerperal sepsis, streptococcus septicemia, etc. and how these diseases have affected global health over the last two centuries and decades.

In this presentation the achievement regarding the 8 millennium goals (MDG), set by the United Nation’s member states to be reached by 2015 are reviewed, with emphasis on Infectious diseases, such as HIV, TB malaria and other vector-borne diseases, including Chagas’ disease and African trypanosomiasis, the latter belong to the ‘neglected tropical diseases’. What made it happen and why (not) is discussed.

In this presentation the global burden of diseases – deaths as well as disabilities – jointly named DALYs – is presented and differences and similarities between lo-, middle-, and high-income countries presently and over time are presented. The strict division between non-communicable and communicable (infectious) diseases is also challenged, and propositions on how to manage them jointly are given. The double burden of NCD+overnutrition and CD+undernutrition in societies in fast transition is presented. The present vs. the expected global burden of diseases by the year 2030 are also introduced.

The session argues for why the three main resources that humanity needs for its survival on this planet are land / soil, water resources and air. In addition, how degradation of such resources places limits health and to the quality of life for the affected human population.
Participants: Senior adviser (IWA) Robert Ros

Despite a steady decline in recent years, malaria continues to be a major cause of ill health and poverty in large parts of the world. The purpose of this video lesson is to get the student to think critically about what might have caused this change, and how infection and disease is affected by human intervention and other drivers of change. Additionally, to encourage the student to engage actively in efforts to combat major infectious disease obstacles to a more equitable world.

This lesson discusses and explains why mental health is difficult to define using international terminology. It also introduces why there is a much higher burden of disease linked with mental disorders in Europe compared to, for example, Africa. The session discussed why there is a different spending on mental health treatment in developing countries compared to western countries.
Participants: Dr. Matt Muijen.

The video introduces health challenges for the very varied group of migrants. A large part voluntarily migrated, but non-voluntary groups include refugees, IDPs, Stateless and trafficked persons. Internal migrants are both due to conflicts and disasters and general urbanisation. The different groups have very varied health issues, and also very varied protective frameworks – whether international conventions or national laws and services - and may not be able or willing to seek health care.

This presentation provides an introduction to migrant health and its importance in the global health context. We’ll look at the key concepts of migration and ethnicity and how they are related to health. Furthermore we’ll look at how barriers may arise in access to health care for migrants, and finally we’ll provide examples from a Scandinavian context on differences in health between migrants and ethnic Danes.