J Korean Med Sci.  2022 Jun;37(22):e174. 10.3346/jkms.2022.37.e174.

Global Health Strategies in the Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Other Unprecedented Threats

Affiliations
  • 1Departments of Rheumatology and Research and Development, Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust (Teaching Trust of the University of Birmingham, UK), Russells Hall Hospital, Dudley, UK
  • 2Department of Health Policy and Management, Asfendiyarov Kazakh National Medical University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
  • 3Department of Biology and Biochemistry, South Kazakhstan Medical Academy, Shymkent, Kazakhstan
  • 4Department of Internal Medicine N2, Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, Lviv, Ukraine
  • 5South Kazakhstan Medical Academy, Shymkent, Kazakhstan
  • 6Centre for Epidemiology versus Arthritis, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

Abstract

Global health is evolving as a discipline aiming at exploring needs and offering equitable health services for all people. Over the past four decades, several global initiatives have been introduced to improve the accessibility of primary health care (PHC) and solve most health issues at this level. Historically, the 1978 Alma-Ata and 2018 Astana Declarations were perhaps the most important documents for a comprehensive approach to PHC services across the world. With the introduction of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, developments in all spheres of human life and multi-sectoral cooperation became the essential action targets that could contribute to improved health, well-being, and safety of all people. Other global initiatives such as the Riyadh Declaration on Digital Health and São Paulo Declaration on Planetary Health called to urgent action to employ advanced digital technologies, improve health data processing, and invest more in research management. All these initiatives are put to the test in the face of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and other unprecedented threats to humanity.

Keyword

Evidence-Based Medicine; Digital Technology; Global Health; Primary Health Care; Sustainable Development; Goal 3 Good Health & Well-Being - UN SDG

Figure

  • Fig. 1 Revision of the hierarchy of evidence-based studies in view of their availability and quality as well as weight of bibliometric and altmetric values. The evidence pyramid can be accompanied by the reversed metrics pyramid. The lines between different categories of studies and metrics are blurred, pointing to their flexible placement.

  • Fig. 2 Continuum of global health strategies.


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