Global Health Research Cancer In Congo Discussion Please follow the instruction below attentively. The attached document is an example of how the paper sho
Global Health Research Cancer In Congo Discussion Please follow the instruction below attentively. The attached document is an example of how the paper should look like
The textbook author, Richard Skolnik (2012), has noted in his blog:
“It is important to think about health as if you were the Minister of Finance of a low- income country, rather than the Minister of Health, since so many determinants of health are outside the health sector. It is essential to continuously ask yourself – ‘if you could only spend $100 to improve the health of people in your country’ – how would you spend it and why? In many respects, the goal of low-income countries with poor health status is to ‘bury old people instead of young people, make the transition as fast as possible, and do this at the least possible cost.’” (October 29, para. 3)
For this assignment, pretend that you are the Minister of Health in a low or middle income country and you are writing to the Minister of Finance to convince him/her to invest money the global health issue. Remember you are trying to convince a finance minister – make a case that address the following issues:
How is this a global health issue and why should we invest?
What is the nature and magnitude of the problem? Who is most affected by the problem?
What are the risk factors for this problem?
Why should the Minister of Finance and the President care about this problem (i.e. what is the impact on the health system)?
What can be done, at least cost, to address this problem and enhance the health of our people?
Follow the format in these sample policy briefs: http://www.jbpub.com/essentialpublichealth/skolnik/2e/sample.aspx. You are required to include at least 2 scholarly sources in your reference lists and for in-text citations.
(Please note: You must use APA format, even though the examples on the textbook website use a different bibliographic format.)
PLEASE NOTE: YOU MUST PICK COUNTRIES NOT REGIONS OR CONTINENTS.
ASSIGNMENTS THAT USE A REGIONS OR CONTINENTS WILL NOT BE READ AND YOU WILL RECEIVE A ZERO. Misty Adams
Hepatitis B in Nigeria
From: Minister of Health, Nigeria
To: Minister of Finance, Nigeria
Introduction:
I am writing to you about our issues with Hepatitis B in our country and how it would be more cost
effective to supply the Hepatitis B vaccine than to treat the effects of it. Hepatitis B is a viral infection
that attacks the liver. It can cause acute and chronic liver disease. 20-30% of adults who are chronically
infected will develop cirrhosis and possibly liver cancer due to the virus. (“World Health Organization,”
2018) Liver cancer that is caused by Hepatitis B, called hepatocellular carcinoma is the 2nd leading cause
of cancer deaths worldwide. (“Facts and figures of hepatitis b,” 2019) Some individuals that are carrying
the disease are unaware, due to not showing any symptoms, thereby infecting others without
knowledge. We can change this by having the vaccine available and thereby decreasing the Hepatitis B
infections throughout the population.
Nature and Magnitude:
Hepatitis B is more infectious than the HIV/AIDS virus. (“Facts and figures of hepatitis b,” 2019) It’s most
often spread from mother to child at birth, but can also be spread through infected blood and body
fluids including sexual transmission and the use of non-sterile needles and instruments. (“World Health
Organization,” 2018) There are about 257 million people worldwide living with Hepatitis B. (“World
Health Organization,” 2018) Our country has one of the highest cases in the world with 20 to 30 million
people infected. (Owoseye & Adebowale, 2018) It’s approximated that 30 million people will become
infected with Hepatitis B every year and around 780,000 people will die from the virus and/or
complications from it like liver cancer. (“Facts and figures of hepatitis b,” 2019)
Affected Population:
According to the World Health Organization, children under 6 that become infected with the virus are
the most likely to develop long term infections. (“World Health Organization,” 2018) The WHO also
predicts that 80-90% of infants that are infected within the first year of life will develop chronic
infections and 30-50% of children that are infected at 6 years of age or before will also develop chronic
infections. (“World Health Organization,” 2018) Chronic infections can develop into scarring of the liver
also called cirrhosis and liver cancer. (“World Health Organization,” 2018) Infection of hepatitis b in
adulthood can lead to chronic infections in less than 5% of cases. (“World Health Organization,” 2018)
Risk Factors:
Risk factors regarding Hepatitis B are people who are drug addicts that inject themselves, having
multiple unsafe sexual partners, a child without having the vaccine whose mother is positive for the
virus, living within a household that has someone positive with the virus and the other occupants not
having the vaccine, healthcare workers and people that are exposed to blood and blood products and
body fluids. (“World Health Organization,” 2018) Other risk factors include people who do not have
access to the vaccination, lack of education due to not using condoms when having multiple sexual
partners and something as simple as washing their hands after coming into contact with any body fluids.
That is not saying the person will not transmit the virus since the virus can survive outside of the body
for around 7 days, but it would help in prevention nonetheless. (“World Health Organization,” 2018) . In
our country, all Nigerian males are circumcised, normally in a home setting resulting in not having
sterilized tools, thereby also spreading the virus, which is why some say it is higher in males in our
country than in females. (Olayinda, Oyemakinde, Balogun, Ajudua, & Nguku, 2016)
Economic and Social Consequences:
According to a study done in December 2016 by Journal of Science and Practice of Pharmacy, the
amount to fund a vaccine and cost-effective treatment of hepatitis b before chronic issues arose were
around N10,700. (Udezi & Akonoghrere, 2016) Within a years time, which is how long this study took
place after everyone was vaccinated, and the money was subtracted for the use of medical personnel,
the vaccines, and supplies, the cost of savings showed N120 million. (Udezi & Akonoghrere, 2016) The
price of getting treatment for cancer in our country is around N30 million per patient. (Ojetunde, 2018)
Realizing that this money is for all cancer, not just liver cancer, but if we can prevent individuals from
getting cancer, as well as them being more healthy with a vaccine that can help them grow into a
healthy adult, that will cost millions less each year, it should help the economy by having more money
and help future generations by having less chronic illness and hopefully living a longer more healthier
life.
Priority Action Steps:
The first action I propose is to make all doses of the hepatitis b vaccine available everywhere. The World
Health Organization recommends that children have a 3 dose series. The first dose to be given within 24
hours of birth and then the second and third doses given with other vaccinations like diphtheria
pertussis and tetanus. (“World Health Organization,” 2018) It has been proven that the hepatitis b
vaccine is at least 95% effective in preventing the virus and the chronic illnesses that can occur with it.
(“World Health Organization,” 2018)
The second action I propose is the use of controlled temperature chains or CTC for short. A study done
in June of 2018 showed that a CTC would allow vaccines, like the hepatitis b vaccine, to be kept outside
the cold chain for a period of time. (Scott et al., 2018) In doing this, the vaccines were able to be more
available to the sub-Saharan African countries like Nigeria. (Scott et al., 2018) The study found that the
CTC outreach strategy improved the timing and coverage of the hepatitis b vaccine dose that is to be
given at birth and is likely to be cost-saving due to being able to reduce the transmission from mother to
infant. (Scott et al., 2018) I think this would be so special to have due to many births are not at hospitals,
but at home. If we are able to bring the vaccine to the patient, instead of the patient to the vaccine, we
could save even more lives because some people are unable to go to hospitals or the urban areas where
the vaccines are normally more accessible.
In conclusion, I must stress the importance of the hepatitis b vaccine and how it could be life-changing
for the Nigerian people. While the money we would save as a nation would be tremendous, the health
of our people would be so much better due to not having it being passed down from mother to child,
and how much longer our children would live due to not having all of the diseases from the virus. We
would still have some cases, of course. Especially in the near future. But for the long future ahead, we
could be on the brink to having hepatitis b being eradicated. Like smallpox. One could only hope.
References
Hepatitis b. (2018). Retrieved from who.int/news-room/fact/sheets/detail/hepatitis-b
Ojetunde, D. (2018, November 4). Cancer treatment in Nigeria costs nearly N30 million per patient.
International Centre For Investigative Reporting. Retrieved from icirnigeria.org/cancer-treatment-innigeria-costs-nearly-n30-million-per-patient/
Olayinda, A. T., Oyemakinde, A., Balogun, M. S., Ajudua, A., & Nguku, P. (2016, October 5).
Seroprevalence of hepatitis b infections in Nigeria: A national survey. The American Journal of Tropical
Medicine and Hygiene, 95(4), 902-907. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.15-0874
Owoseye, A., & Adebowale, A. (2018, July 28). World hepatitis day: How Nigeria has fared in battling
scourge. Premium Times . Retrieved from premiumtimesng.com/health/health-news/278097-worldhepatitis-day-how-nigeria-has-fared-in-battling-scourge.html
Scott, N., Palmer, A., Morgan, C., Lesi, O., Spearman, C., Sonderup, M., & Hellard, M. (2018, June). Costeffectiveness of the controlled temperature chain for the hepatitis B virus birth dose vaccine in various
global settings: a modelling study . The Lancet Global Health , 6, e659-e667.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(18)30219-5
Udezi, W. A., & Akonoghrere, R. O. (2016, December). Cost-effectiveness analysis of hepatitis B
vaccination versus treatment . Journal of Science and Practice of Pharmacy, 128-134. Retrieved from
jsppharm.org/admin/12389900798187/2016_3_1_8_pdf
What is hepatitis b. (2019). Retrieved from hepb.org/what-is-hepatitis-b/what-is-hepb/facts-and-figures
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