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Chargement... A History of Global Health: Interventions into the Lives of Other Peoplespar Randall M. Packard
   Aucun Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre.  scottjpearson | Jan 25, 2020 |  aucune critique | ajouter une critique
Over the past century, hundreds of billions of dollars have been invested in programs aimed at improving health on a global scale. Given the enormous scale and complexity of these lifesaving operations, why do millions of people in low-income countries continue to live without access to basic health services, sanitation, or clean water? And why are deadly diseases like Ebola able to spread so quickly among populations? In A History of Global Health, Randall M. Packard argues that global-health initiatives have saved millions of lives but have had limited impact on the overall health of people living in underdeveloped areas, where health-care workers are poorly paid, infrastructure and basic supplies such as disposable gloves, syringes, and bandages are lacking, and little effort has been made to address the underlying social and economic determinants of ill health. Global-health campaigns have relied on the application of biomedical technologies--vaccines, insecticide-treated nets, vitamin A capsules--to attack specific health problems but have failed to invest in building lasting infrastructure for managing the ongoing health problems of local populations. Designed to be read and taught, the book offers a critical historical view, providing historians, policy makers, researchers, program managers, and students with an essential new perspective on the formation and implementation of global-health policies and practices. Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
Discussion en coursAucunCouvertures populaires  
 Google Books — Chargement...GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)362.1Social sciences Social problems and services; associations Social problems of & services to groups of people People with physical illnessesClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne: (4)
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3
The book meets my already-high expectations. Written well, it chronicles early attempts to control disease in "foreign" habitats. It talks about how the "white man" acted with self-interest in Panama with yellow fever and with malaria. It holds no punches about the shortcomings of global health efforts, and as a good history, it shares how more primitive early efforts evolved into greater attempts down the road.
The author's most-obvious contribution to this conversation is his insistence to examine the economic and social underpinnings of health. Long-term contributions will work along these lines. Too often, Westerners' contributions were/are focused on attacking one disease (like smallpox or malaria) and are blind to the needs of greater societal structures of healthcare. Of course, disease interventions are also necessary and can have quite an impact (e.g., with smallpox's eradication). But eradication efforts must be coupled with long-term contributions to culture and education.
Women's roles cannot be underestimated. In most of the non-Western world, women can live in an underclass without as much freedom or knowledge. Women who learn, to be frank, do not become prostitutes and can control their environment to prevent the spread of disease.
Overall, I would recommend this book for global-health reading. I plan to soon compare it with a history of public health - interventions into the lives of our own people.
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