Download HealthChallenges

Faculty of Public Health
Mahidol University
Bangkok, Thailand
Health Challenges
of
South-East Asia
by
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nawarat Suwannapong
Deputy Dean, Faculty of Public Health,
Mahidol University, Thailand
I. Health challenges related to Health
Management
• Urbanization: Pollution, crime, drug abuse,
commercial sex worker, etc.
• Ecological imbalance: Landslide, flood, ecological
and environmental issues are neglected, low
priority, etc.
• Changing social structures: Increased elderly
population, increased stress,etc.
• Globalization: Trans-boundary diseases, SARS,
Free Trade Area (FTA)
• Quality Health Care
I. Health challenges related to Health
Management (contd)
•
•
•
•
Healthy public policies and decentralization
Equity in health care
Lack of emphasis on health promotion/prevention
Lack of coordinated information for basing policy
decisions
• Confusion about the control of communicable
diseases
• Poor capacity of health authorities to evaluate the
outcome
• Professional ethics and human right
II. Public Health System
• Lack of popular support to public health
e.g. India, political support and technical commitment
were lacking
• Leadership crisis e.g. Most of health administrators are
clinician
• Violation of National Health Policy
e.g. Environmental health was outside the domain of
health authorities
• Outdated organization of health ministries and
departments e.g. Integration of public health and medical
services had disintegrated the public health system
II. Public Health System (contd)
• Professional inadequacy and apathy
e.g. Health authorities took away ad hoc actions
with inadequate technical insight and competence,
India -- one doctor: 20,000 population
• Conservative bureaucratic administration: there
was a tendency to maintain the status quo
• Financial constraints e.g. The limited financial
resources available were spent wrongly,
misconduct
III. Infectious Diseases
• Malaria:
– Mapping of Malaria risk
– Monitoring of drug resistance
– Development of combination therapies and new
methods of administering medications
– Use of Insecticide-treated materials for personal
protection
– Improvement of responses to malaria epidemics
– Gender issues in diagnosis, treatment and
prevention
– Home and community-based action to reduce
malaria burden
III. Infectious Diseases (contd)
• Emergence of new diseases and new epidemics
e.g. Avian Flu
• Measles: a re-emerging disease, exhibited a new strain
virus that attacks kidney
• TB: Indonesia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, India,
• HIV/AIDS: India, Myanmar, Thailand
• DHF: e.g.Thailand, Indonesia
Health Challenges of Thailand
• Changes of lifestyle – pattern of morbidity
and mortality changed
• Non-Communicable Diseases
–
–
–
–
–
Cerebrovascular Diseases
Carcinoma: all forms
Accidents
Diabetes
Overweight and Obesity
Health Challenges of Thailand
(contd)
• Infectious Diseases
– DHF
– AIDS
– TB (re-emerging)
– Severe diarrhea
– Malaria (re-emerging)
Universal coverage(30 Baht policy)
Hospital Accreditation
Tobacco banned policy
Drunk don’t drive
Healthy Thailand
etc.
Thank you