The Impact of Two Global Health Promotion Initiatives

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The aim of this essay is to discuss critically the impact of two global health promotion initiatives, citing examples from two developing countries. To set the stage for this discussion, in this introduction the author will define terms like ‘Health’, ‘Global Health Promotion’ and ‘Developing countries’. The World Health Organisation (WHO) constitution stipulates that, “The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental human rights of every human being, without the distinction of race, religion, and political belief, economic or social condition”(1). Health promotion is concerned with empowering people with access to this fundamental human right. In 1986, health promotion was defined in the Ottawa Charter as, “the process of enabling people to increase control over and to improve their health” (2). It provides people with sufficient means or channels to achieve and maintain their health, which refers to, “A state of complete physical, social and mental wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity”(3). The achievement of this state has been one of the major global challenges of the 21st century, especially in developing countries. The term developing country is difficult to define, since there is no internationally recognized agreement on the meaning of; developed, developing and under-developed countries. Several parameters are used to categorize nations into each group, with considerable overlap in the criteria. For, instance, according to the World Bank, developing countries refer to nations with either low or middle level Gross National Product (GNP) per capita income. However, five high income countries, China, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Singapore are classifie... ... middle of paper ... ...rsson N, Milne D, Mokoena T, Masisi M. Community views about routine HIV testing and antiretroviral treatment in Botswana: signs of progress from a cross sectional study. BMC International Health and Human Rights 2007;7(1):5. (27) Medical News Today. Botswana's ARV National Roll-Out Complete In All Hospitals. 2004; Available at: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/17060.php. Accessed 7/9/2010, 2010. (28) WHO. "3 by 5" Country Information. 2010; Available at: http://www.who.int/3by5/countryprofiles/en/. Accessed 7/7/2010, 2010. (29) UNAID. Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS: AIDS Epidemic Update 2009. 2009; Available at: http://www.unaids.org/en/KnowledgeCentre/HIVData/EpiUpdate/EpiUpdArchive/2009/default.asp. Accessed 7/9/2010, 2010. (30) Renwick N. Global Society's Response to HIV/AIDS: Botswana's Experience. Global Society 2007;21(2):133-153.

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