Over the last decade, countries have made it a priority to help fix the damage we have done to the environment. Due to the environmental breakdown, we have seen outbreaks of diseases, strengthed pathogens, and a rise in obesity and environmental pollution. The World Health Organization has released a list of the top 10 threats to global health in 2019, that need attention and action. Join us for our two-part series on the top 10 threats globally for 2019.
Air Pollution
One of the biggest problems cited by WHO is the increase in air pollution causing smog and other forms of pollution to rise into the air. The burning of fossil fuels as well as releasing gases into the air makes it harder for us to breath, gives us less protection from our ozone as well as causing climate change here on earth.
Non-Communicable Disease
There are millions of non-communicable disease deaths annually reported, being one of the biggest killers around the world. Noncommunicable diseases aka chronic diseases such as Alzheimers, asthma, cataracts, kidney disease, diabetes and more. It’s important to understand the risk factors of NCD in order to better understand what you can do to live a healthy lifestyle with the illness.
Annual non-communicable disease deaths are estimated to total:
- 17 million from cardiovascular disease
- 7 million from cancer
- 4.2 million from respiratory disease
- 1.3 million from diabetes
Influenza Epidemic
According to the WHO we are expected to face another influenza pandemic, always monitoring in case of the next outbreak. With over 153 institutions globally in order to combat the disease, the world has taken precautions to fight the next breakout. In 1918 Influenza spread worldwide causing at least 50 million deaths.
Natural Disasters
Throughout the world, people are globally fighting off natural disasters such as drought, famine, & conflict. Since the 80’s there’s been an uptick in deaths from these natural disaters from wildifres, landslides, or even extraterrestrial impact.
Antimicrobial resistance
To finish off part one of our series, The WHO describes the resistance to antibiotics/antivirals on the rise and it won’t be too long until bacteria and viruses improve their ability to be immune to our antibodies. The inability to protect ourselves from these threats could lead to more serious procedures in order to neutralize the foreign threats in our bodies.
Stay tuned for part two of our series as we finish the WHO’s top ten global threats of 2019.