Low Health Expectancy in Developing Countries There

¶ … Low Health Expectancy in Developing Countries

There are a number of health problems in the developing world that contribute to lower health and life expectancy. Many of these health problems are environmental, which means that they may be beyond the immediate control of people in the developing countries. Many of these factors also disproportionately impact the poor in these countries. "From longstanding to emerging hazards, environmental factors are a root cause of a significant burden of death, disease and disability -- particularly in developing countries. The resulting impacts are estimated to cause about 25% of death and disease globally, reaching nearly 35% in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa (1). This includes environmental hazards in the work, home and broader community/living environment" (WHO 2013). Three of these problems are: unsafe water, malaria, and lead exposure.

Unsafe water may be the largest global health risk, particularly in developing countries. In order to understand how large the problem is it is important to realize that unsafe water is a leading cause of global death. "Diseases from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Children are especially vulnerable, as their bodies aren't strong enough to fight diarrhea, dysentery and other illnesses" (Why Water 2006). In fact, children are at the highest risk of developing these health problems. "90% of the 30,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are in children under five years old. Many of these diseases are preventable" (Why Water 2006). The negative health impacts of unsafe water go beyond the diseases that people can contract from the water. "In Africa alone, people spend 40 billion hours every year just walking for water" (Why Water 2006). This means that the quest for clean drinking water comes with an opportunity cost that can also lead to a negative long-term impact on people's health (Why Water 2006).

Malaria is another health problem that has led to low health expectancy in developing countries. "Malaria is a parasitic disease that involves high fevers, shaking chills, flu-like symptoms, and anemia" (Dugdale 2013). Malaria is not transmitted directly from person-to person, but can be transmitted by mosquito bites. Therefore, malaria is particularly a problem in tropical areas, where mosquitos are abundant. This is especially true when housing does not provide protection from mosquitos; and in developing nations, much of the housing is of this type. "The disease is a major health problem in much of the tropics and subtropics. The CDC estimates that there are 300-500 million cases of malaria each year and more than 1 million people die from it. It presents a major disease hazard for travelers to warm climates" (Dugdale 2013). Furthermore, the problem of malaria seems to be one that is growing. Malaria was once controllable if insect populations were controlled. However, "In some areas of the world, mosquitoes that carry malaria have developed resistance to insecticides. In addition, the parasites have developed resistance to some antibiotics. These conditions have led to difficulty in controlling both the rate of infection and spread of this disease" (Dugdale 2013). In addition, while there were once four types of malaria parasites responsible for most infections, a fifth type has become responsible for a significant amount of malaria infections in Southeast Asia. Fortunately, small things can be done to help reduce the spread of malaria. These include the use of nets over bedding, to prevent mosquito bites at night.

The third problem contributing to low health expectancy in the developing world is lead exposure. Lead exposure is not only linked to a number of premature deaths, but also to life-long health problems, particularly cognitive health problems. In fact, "Lead exposure kills more than 230-000 people per year and causes cognitive effects in one third of all children globally; more than 97% of those affected live in the developing world" (World Health Organization 2013). Lead poisoning is "a medical condition caused by increased levels of heavy metal lead in the body"(Alo 2011). What makes it particularly dangerous is that lead is a cumulative toxicant (Alo 2011). Lead poisoning is linked to cognitive problems such as reduced IQ and attention problems, kidney damage, slowed body growth, digestion problems, headaches, irritability, and aggressive behavior. All of these issues can exacerbate other existing health problems. One of the reasons that lead poisoning remains a major health issue contributing to low health expectancy in developing countries is that many developing countries still allow the use of lead paint. For example, "the Nigerian paint industry with over 1000 S & M. enterprises produces estimated 40 million litres of lead paints used in the country annually (PMA)" (Alo 2011). The financial investment in these countries makes it unlikely that lead paint will be outlawed at any time in the future. In addition to the use of lead in paint, developing nations also frequently use leaded gasoline, have problems with battery disposal, and have lead mining (Alo 2011).