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Global health is the health of populations in a global context that transcends national borders and emphasizes on global, political, and economic impact. It has been defined as “the area of study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide”. Thus, global health is about worldwide improvements of health, reduction of disparities, and protection against global threats that disregard national borders. The major international agency for health is the World Health Organization WHO. Other important agencies that impact on global health activities include UNICEF, World Food Program WFP, and the United Nations UN.
Currently, we are dealing with so many problems in the world, namely; poverty, loss of cultural identity, lack of education, lack of access to medical help, and loss of wildlife habitats. Seeing all these makes me feel so helpless, but my pessimistic views are changing little by little as I become more involved with relief organizations and see the impact these groups can make.
With this said, I feel responsible to educate students, especially those who are interested, about some of the organizations that my friends and I have been involved with while attending UCSD. I have set a goal to reach out to these interested to teach them how they can be more involved with their school, and community. I want to educate the interested individuals that donating money, whether it is monthly payments to support a child’s health and school fees, or to pay to reconstruct a city after a natural disaster, is not necessarily the best way to help.
As a global health major, I’ve studied the corruption of the political and economic systems in these developing countries. Unfortunately, most of the donation money sent out for causes, usually don’t reach to the people in need or those who can make a difference. The money gets lost somewhere in the process, whether it is for “fees” that the organization needs to pay for, or just a result from a corrupt government that takes the money and spends it on other uses. We’ve witnessed this occurring with the relief aid sent for Haiti, and the new recent buzz on the internet about Kony 2012.
Therefore, I encourage you to research about the organization you are planning to make a donation to. Make sure your donation gets to those who are in real need. If you have time, try to join the organization and actually be a part of making a change. Visit the sites that need help, try to get companies to donate school, medical, or hygiene supplies. This is not a hard task, all you need to do is to go out there and find an organization to be involved with. So don’t wait any longer, the world needs you!