It might be fair to say that there is no more “business as usual” when it comes to how some view global health. While living among those privileged to have convenient 24-hour churches, clinics or pharmacies on every corner, the links between developed and developing countries are rarely mentioned. However, these links demonstrate the bridging of the gaps between the two types and emphasize the increasing effect that one has on the other.
I remember serving on a humanitarian mission overseas while serving in the military as a US Navy hospital corpsman and waiting for the opportunity to use a pay phone to call my parents in the United States. Today, I can simply use my own internationally capable cell phone, as well as use Skype or other software that allows for video calls. Advances in telemedicine have improved medical response and opened up opportunities for distant professionals to collaborate.
We celebrate non-governmental organizations (NGOs), such as Doctors Without Borders, which continues provide multilevel medical care. For those like me who are working toward careers in global health, job markets and organizational cultures are ever-growing and ever-changing. Unfortunately, there is the problem of brain drain and the unavailability of properly trained medical personnel in much needed areas. However, the increase in volunteer opportunities for students and professionals has helped disperse talents and experience when they are available. In academia, global health is becoming a regular tabletop topic, and for some institutions it is a specialty that continues to attract the best and brightest of those with a heart to serve.
Many, regardless of whether they live in a developed or developing country, will never have the opportunity to travel around the world. However, those who seem to like the opportunity should consider the notion that global health is coming their way. The growing presence of local herbal shops and holistic physician offices is a visual representation of the growing influence of global health. In developed countries, citizens and foreigners who cannot afford expensive treatments and medicines (or out of preference) visit these places. Imagine, now you have a foreigner who couldn’t afford health care in his home country, who now can’t afford health care in some developed countries.
Various funding opportunities can be credited with opening the doors for many to travel abroad for an education that might not have been possible decades ago. There is now a greater push for international standards of quality health care due to increased access and medical dispersion in most areas of the global community; however, implementation of these standards exists in development stages.
Traveling abroad has often presented apprehension in cases of medical emergencies, in areas that have traditionally lacked medical facilities and staff, as well as concerns regarding the skill levels of medical personnel who lacked formal training. Now, the possibility of locating a doctor who studied at an accredited institution is increasing; moreover, the existence of an accredited institution is now a reality for some poor countries.
As a born US citizen, I would like to congratulate those who have educated me in the past and have emphasized the importance of global health. However, there are those who see global health as something our government is more supportive of than the health care needs of people in our own country. Too often, global health exposure is defined by TV commercials showing starving children with waving flies and the infamous bowl of rice, or a continual message from someone asking for money. Global health is much more. I implore everyone to investigate the effects global health has on markets, education, careers, culture, etc. We in the field of global health must continue to encourage more research from those within academia, from the field, but also from those in developing countries.