While the medical world is improving day by day, deaths due to heart disease continue to rise. Even though some countries imposed bans and changed laws on tobacco, this generation of young people are becoming more and more addicted to nicotine.

In this article, we highlight the good, the bad and the ugly in global health in 2019.

 

The good

• Transfat produced industrially, is an artificial chemical in food that kills 500,000 people every year. This year Thailand, European Union and Brazil banned it, protecting neatly 3 billion people.
• Many countries have imposed taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages. This is a major step against the obesity epidemic. Chile is notably leading the way with Peru mandating warnings on foods high in salt, sugar and fat. Many other countries are moving towards this.
• India, China, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Vietnam and countries in North and South America, are improving their care system given to people with hypertension. This illness kills more than 10 million people a year.
• WHO has added combinations of two anti-hypertensive drugs in one pill to its essential medicines list. This will increase access, reduce costs and improve treatment quality.

 

The bad

• We are not prepared for a disease endemic. Ebola has killed more than 2000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Measles kills more than 100,000 children a year, and cases have increased by 17% due to anti-vaccination campaigns. The decline in malaria deaths have slowed, and is responsible to more than 400,000 deaths annually.
• The declines in heart attack and stroke deaths in the US has stalled after five decades. Many of these deaths are preventable through control of hypertension and diabetes, better nutrition, and increased physical activity.

 

The ugly

• E-cigarette use around the world has skyrocketed. In the US, it has increased by 78% last year. As a result, an outbreak of lung injuries occurred.
• Hundreds of health care workers in dozens of countries have been killed while providing medical care. One example is during the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• Polio cases quadrupled last year. This is a disease which was on the verge of being eradicated. However, due to increased violence, and poor vaccine programs, polio has emerged in countries such as Pakistan.
• An increase of death from extreme weather events and vector-borne diseases have been observed. This is due to our inability to take sufficient action on climate change.

 

The world can hope for a better 2020, with dedicated leaders fighting for heart health, reduce smoking, encourage healthier eating and prevent epidemics.

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