2015 – Ill with Illness: Economic, Social & Security Barriers to the Provision of Global Health

Global public health is suffering from a crisis of capacity. As social, economic, and security challenges threaten the sustainable delivery of healthcare worldwide, the existing system of care is at a critical juncture. Recent events call into question the international health community’s ability to adequately extend the benefits of healthcare across the international community. Inequity and inaccessibility abound domestically and internationally, with those who bear the global burden of disease disproportionately living in those regions least equipped to respond. Current international organizations focusing on healthcare that have worked towards development and innovation in the past no longer succeed in extending needed benefits to the broader international community. Moreover, as transnational public threats like Ebola rapidly cross borders, unprecedented levels of cooperation and response are required at the local, national, and international levels of health policy and security. These phenomena put in question whether global health disasters can be addressed by reforming the current system, or whether they are symptomatic of deeper institutional struggles and are unworkable within the current constraints of global health institutions.

From examining the failures of international organizations to discussing access to care for vulnerable populations, ‘Ill with Illness: Economic, Social & Security Barriers to the Provision of Global Health’ will examine the main challenges within global health and draw potential innovations and solutions to heal healthcare in a new era of illness.