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Lecture 4 : The Third World Overview

Lecture 4 : The Third World Overview. OVERVIEW DISEASES Food- And Water-Borne Air-Borne Vector-Borne EXPLANATIONS Environmental Factors Medical Services Poverty TRENDS AND IMPLICATIONS. Overview. Under Developed Countries are characterised by:

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Lecture 4 : The Third World Overview

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  1. Lecture 4: The Third World Overview • OVERVIEW • DISEASES • Food- And Water-Borne • Air-Borne • Vector-Borne • EXPLANATIONS • Environmental Factors • Medical Services • Poverty • TRENDS AND IMPLICATIONS

  2. Overview Under Developed Countries are characterised by: • High death rates and low life expectancies; • High rates of infant and childhood mortality; • High mortality from infectious diseases; • Low life expectancy. Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest life expectancies. However, there is considerable variation between: • Different Third World countries; • Urban and rural areas; • Affluent and less affluent areas within the same city.

  3. Diseases • Food- and water-borne diseases (e.g. polio, typhoid and cholera) are common due to micro-organisms being transmitted by the faecal-oral route. Parasitic worms infect an estimated 1 in 4 worldwide. • Air-borne diseases (e.g. tuberculosis, measles, influenza) are endemic in many cities. • Vector-borne diseases including malaria, schistosomiasis and yellow fever are endemic in many regions. • Most Third World countries are in different stages of completing the epidemiological transition. As life expectancies increase, the causes of death tend to change.

  4. Explanatory Factors • Environmental factors. The tropical or semi-tropical climates found in many Third World countries are conducive to the reproduction of germs and vectors. • Medical provision. The paucity of medical services, especially in rural areas reduces the likelihood of effective treatment. • However, the main common factor is poverty. Poverty influences health in several ways: • Resources are not available for sanitation • Migration to major cities results in overcrowding • Malnutrition

  5. Trends • Life expectancies improved in the colonial era due to public health interventions by colonial governments. • Similar improvements followed independence in the mid-20th century due to the activities of the World Health Organization. • The rate of improvement declined in the 1970s/1980s, suggesting that there is a limit to what can be achieved by high cost western medicine against a backdrop of poverty. • Much could be achieved given the proper utilisation of existing resources, especially in the context of preventive measures. • Clean water supply is a major priority.

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