Global challenge 3:

Growing gaps in health and wellbeing

5 Global challenges – What do we need to prioritize this decade?

The five global challenges emerging from the Strategy 2030 consultations are a balance of existing and emerging risks, that are most relevant to our mandate and our scope of influence. These are inseparable from each other and are heavily influenced by trends identified in our Global Thematic Futures Report.

Significant global health gains have been achieved in recent years. Major medical advances against killer diseases are continuously being achieved and new technologies offer greater regional and global infectious disease surveillance, to predict and prevent future infectious diseases threats.

However, people continue to face a complex mix of interconnected threats to their health and well-being. Infectious disease remains a major public health concern around the world. The changing health landscape and the threat multipliers of climate change on a global population that has changing demographics, aging and more dependant populations, face a higher rate of non-communicable disease and increased exposure to environmental pollution and toxins. Persistent threats also continue in ensuring safe access to water and safely managed sanitation and humanity is more at risk than ever of a global pandemic and epidemic. These issues collide with contexts where more than a billion people live in places where protracted crises and weak health services leave them without access to basic care and fostering environments where many other forgotten diseases emerge. Increasingly, mental health issues (in particular depression and anxiety disorders) rank highly in the global burden of disease, with social and digital isolation contributing to loneliness becoming a public health issue that is projected to reach epidemic proportions.

Most countries across the globe are facing a formidable challenge to manage the rapidly increasing cost of health care. A projected significant shortage of health workers – estimated to reach 18 million by 2030 – will affect the delivery of health services at all levels.

Our goal is that all citizens have safe, and equitable access to health, water, sanitation, and care services, in all countries. 

We will increase our work in community health and increase the number of Red Cross and Red Crescent community health workers, as well as supporting National Societies utilising their auxiliary role to deploy RCRC volunteers into health workforce strategies.

We will expand integrated health and care and water, sanitation and hygiene programmes to ‘last mile’ settings in order to meet the needs of vulnerable or marginalized groups in all countries where formal health systems are not able to meet the needs of their populations. We will also significantly invest in epidemic and pandemic preparedness.

We will work with partners to ensure that people have access the health care they need at a price they can afford.

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5 Global challenges – What do we need to prioritize this decade?

The five global challenges emerging from the Strategy 2030 consultations are a balance of existing and emerging risks, that are most relevant to our mandate and our scope of influence. These are inseparable from each other and are heavily influenced by trends identified in our Global Thematic Futures Report.

Significant global health gains have been achieved in recent years. Major medical advances against killer diseases are continuously being achieved and new technologies offer greater regional and global infectious disease surveillance, to predict and prevent future infectious diseases threats.

However, people continue to face a complex mix of interconnected threats to their health and well-being. Infectious disease remains a major public health concern around the world. The changing health landscape and the threat multipliers of climate change on a global population that has changing demographics, aging and more dependant populations, face a higher rate of non-communicable disease and increased exposure to environmental pollution and toxins. Persistent threats also continue in ensuring safe access to water and safely managed sanitation and humanity is more at risk than ever of a global pandemic and epidemic. These issues collide with contexts where more than a billion people live in places where protracted crises and weak health services leave them without access to basic care and fostering environments where many other forgotten diseases emerge. Increasingly, mental health issues (in particular depression and anxiety disorders) rank highly in the global burden of disease, with social and digital isolation contributing to loneliness becoming a public health issue that is projected to reach epidemic proportions.

Most countries across the globe are facing a formidable challenge to manage the rapidly increasing cost of health care. A projected significant shortage of health workers – estimated to reach 18 million by 2030 – will affect the delivery of health services at all levels.

Our goal is that all citizens have safe, and equitable access to health, water, sanitation, and care services, in all countries. 

We will increase our work in community health and increase the number of Red Cross and Red Crescent community health workers, as well as supporting National Societies utilising their auxiliary role to deploy RCRC volunteers into health workforce strategies.

We will expand integrated health and care and water, sanitation and hygiene programmes to ‘last mile’ settings in order to meet the needs of vulnerable or marginalized groups in all countries where formal health systems are not able to meet the needs of their populations. We will also significantly invest in epidemic and pandemic preparedness.

We will work with partners to ensure that people have access the health care they need at a price they can afford.

Related content

The future of mental health & psychosocial support

By Cecilie Dinesen, IFRC Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support

Read more

HEALTH OF THE FUTURE

Extract from the  Global thematic futures report

Read more

Give us your feedback

4 Comments

  1. Guðný H. BJ

    1

    Reply
  2. Tautala Mauala

    I support the above statement

    Reply
  3. Mofijur Rahman Mamun

    I’m very happy to see this new decade strategy. Population Movement Operation Bangladesh ready to implement it.

    Reply
  4. ABU BAKARR SAMURA

    This is serious, but there are solutions to effectively meet some of the complex health crisis especially those at community levels that have to do with personal and environmental hygiene, environmental protection and other preventive measures. As a Movement, our strength lies in our ever ready and potential volunteers worldwide with Marmot of experiences in helping save lives of not only the vulnerable but the non-vulnerable also. National Societies to continue strengthening the youth and volunteers sectors with support from PNSs in these NSs. What I suggest is for young people in the RCRC Movement to be encouraged or support in understanding the SDGs and doing the sensitization to grassroots communities this can be a good platform for helping out communities taking the leadership role in protecting themselves and communities against health hazards, as well understanding the global trend on issues of concerns. And if we don’t do it, who will?

    Reply

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