Social and Economic Development for Health

Non-Communicable Diseases

• A medical condition or disease that is non-infectious and non-transmissible among people

Economic Development

• Technology improved food productivity and supply (Green Revolution)
• Improved transport infrastructure for medical and food supplies
• Investment in drainage and sewage systems, especially in urban areas
• Trading resources or manufactured goods for a wider variety of foods and medicines

Social Development

• Improved sanitation
• Better education about sanitation and disease transmission
• Advances in medical technology (antibiotics and vaccines)
• Better training for doctors, nurses, and midwives
• Aid programs from the UN or NGOs to improve healthcare resources

Demographic Transition Model

• Demonstrates how population demographics fluctuate over time due to changes in birth rates, death rates, and natural increase

Epidemiological Transition

• Describes changing patterns of population age distribution, mortality, fertility, life expectancy, and causes of death
• Infectious diseases are replaced by chronic diseases over time due to expanded public health and sanitation

Stages of Epidemiological Transition

Pre-Pestilence and Famine

• High mortality rate, low and variable life expectancy, infectious diseases were dominant

Early Receding Pandemics

• Decline in mortality rate, increase in life expectancy, population growth sustained and begins to rise exponentially
• Advances in medicine and development of healthcare systems

Late Degenerative and Man-made Diseases

• Mortality continues to decline, eventually approaching stability at a relatively low level
• Infectious disease pandemics replaced by non-communicable degenerative diseases

Post-Delayed Degenerative Diseases

• Declining death rates concentrated at advanced ages

Population and Environment

• Population mainly affected by physical environmental factors and development processes
• Number of deaths rising due to an aging population
• Birth rate slowing, fertility rate declining

Features of the Natural Environment

• Climate
• Soil fertility
• Topography
• Water supply
• Geology
• Resource distribution

Relationship Between Population and Environment

• Climate change
• Pollution
• Depletion of finite resources
• Ozone depletion
• Damage to wildlife and habitats

Food Production

• South America grows the most oil crops
• North America grows the most coarse grain (used for animal feed and brewing)
• Europe grows the most barley and is the second biggest producer of pork, meat, and fish
• Asian countries produce the most cereal crops, wheat, rice, sugar, meat, milk, and fish
• China and India are the biggest producers of milk, meat, and fish

Influences on Food Production

• Environmental capacity (physical environment, climate, water, and soil fertility)
• Human capacity (population size, skills, technology, and capital investment in agricultural infrastructure)

Challenges Driven by Human Population Growth

Economic Loss

• Poverty increased economic gap
• Scarce resources
• Increased unemployment

Environmental Degradation

• Increased use of fossil fuels
• Desertification
• Habitat loss

Political Conflict

• Pressure to use protected areas
• Wars over resources
• Refugees and dealing with migration crises

Social Disruption

• Providing adequate healthcare and education
• Disease and pandemics
• Demand for housing

Malthus' Theory

• Believes there is a limit to human population growth, determined by the environment and food production
• Food production increases arithmetically, population grows logarithmically
• Eventually, population will exceed carrying capacity, leading to a population crash

Malthus' Checks

• Positive checks (misery): war, famine, disease, increased abortion, high IMR
• Negative checks (moral restraint): celibacy, later marriages