Examine how health issues affect other policy areas and evaluate the options available to governments in LDCs
Date: 17th December 2010 Name: Clodagh Mullins Student Number: 08590711 Course: BESS
The World Health Organizations (WHO) definition of health is 'Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity '.(WHO website) This implies that governments in LDCs should not only be concerned with the curing and reduction of disease but also for the quality of life of their citizens. Therefore there is a need not just for health policies to be in place but also good education, economic development and growth policies to ensure social and mental satisfaction within the country. However health issues in these countries continue to affect other policy areas which make these social goals less attainable.
This essay will take to following formate. Firstly it will discuss the correlation between health policies and other policies. Then the essay will explain the relationship between critical health issues; HIV/AIDS, Malaria, other tropical diseases and malnutrition and there affect on other governmental policies. Finally in the secondly half of the essay the possible solutions available to governments of LDCs will be examined.
Firstly it is necessary to understand the trade off between the implementation of health policy and other policies. There is a strong correlation between health and education policy. In order to have a population that has the ability to learn and absorb knowledge, they need to be healthy. Similarly if the population is uneducated there will be a reduction in the standard of health care provided as these programs rely on skills learnt in school, such as general nutrition and sanitation information. Thus greater health capital will improve the returns to investment in education by increasing
Bibliography: Anon, Nov 20th 2008, Improved health does not always make countries richer, The Economist. Michael Todaro and Stephen Smith, 2008, Economic Development, (10th edn.), Addison Wesley Longman. Russell W. Belk, Per 0stergaard, and Ronald Groves, 1998, Sexual Consumption in the Time of AIDS: A Study of Prostitute Patronage in Thailand. Websites http://www.avert.org/thailand-aids-hiv.htm viewed on the 14th December 2010. http://www.who.int/en/ viewed on the 15th December 2010.