9.
7 Discussion Forum
Alone, neither the private sector nor the government can reverse the growing epidemic on
non-communicable diseases especially when budgets are stretched: we need to work together. In
establishing alliances with the public and NGO sectors, the financial capital, human capacity and
market penetration of the private corporations can be invaluable, helping to create a health-
promoting atmosphere in which people have the resources and information required to make
healthier choices (Collins, et al., 2019). First, I would like to highlight the severity of the NCD
epidemic not only here in Australia, but also among developing countries in particular. I
fervently believe that the integration of these corporations to operate on NCDs is an environment
to be explored for initiatives and solutions to be fully sustainable, especially in the advent of the
COVID-19 pandemic. The private sector per se should treat health as a vital part of what they do,
and they can make a significant difference and become part of the solution by engaging in
collaborations, as mandated by the Millennium Development Goals. Though there are several
issues for action on NCDs by the private sector, the most important of which is the profit motive,
the benefits outweighs the pitfalls. Nevertheless, I believe that the private sector, both local and
multinational corporations, has tremendous potential to lead in the prevention, control and
management of NCDs, whether within its immediate sphere of influence (starting with employee
health) or in collaboration with other organisations and stakeholders in the broader community.
When attempting to counter NCDs, these private companies have several advantages: they have
the regional reach, the convening capacity and reputation within local communities, the long-
term dedication to participating and, crucially, the resources to take action (Hancock, et al.,
2011). Other stakeholders, including government , non-governmental organisations, academics
or international organisations, should look for and seize opportunities to collaborate with
companies to solve the health issues facing our country and the world, in general.
References:
Collins, T., Mikkelsen, B., & Axelrod, S. (2019). Interact, engage or partner? Working with the
private sector for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases. Cardiovascular
diagnosis and therapy, 9(2), 158–164. https://doi.org/10.21037/cdt.2018.08.04
Hancock, C., Kingo, L., & Raynaud, O. (2011). The private sector, international development
and NCDs. Globalization and health, 7, 23. https://doi.org/10.1186/1744-8603-7-23
Reaction to Sample Answer:
By: Natalie Dreggs
It’s no secret that COVID-19 and NCDs provide a greater risk of mortality among the affected populations and I definitely support the international control of the
pandemic; however, it makes it difficult for international bodies to help control all co-morbidities. For example, WHO mentioned that weight issues (obesity and
malnutrition) causes a 7-fold risk increase in the mortality rates (World Health Organisation, 2020). However, the international population has multiple and not only
one form of weight issue to place their efforts on. They need to control undernutrition, overweight and obesity issues. This poses a difficult situation where increased
efforts are needed to manage different parts of the world by international organisations like WHO. I would like to see more control over what each individual country
needs are and thereby more prevention.
This is where I think national organisations can take on a smaller role to protect and prevent the weight issues that are prevalent in the respective country. Therefore, I
think the role of tackling NCDs in an international organisation is delegating the course of action for each national body as the prevalent issues are so diverse and
cannot simply be managed globally. I definitely think that it shouldn’t be just a global response or just a national response, but rather a more integrated approach with
each level of governance can take part in a smaller role to achieve a larger goal. I believe in this way, public health doesn’t have the burden of every potential NCD
and the financial, health and social burden do not place too much pressure on each local health district or state wide public health system. I believe that in this
approach, prevention can be prioritised rather than treatment as per Albie’s lecture in part 2.
Through this, I think that WHO’s targets for 2025 are attainable, however, only if we have global support from each government and all country leaders. They are
realistic because they have to be, we have to start preventing the onset of NCDs by decreasing salt and alcohol intake and through reducing the burden of hypertension
and hyperglycaemia. These are small steps for a more healthier future with less burden on local health districts and local governments. This could be where private
organisation can take a role in the prevention of NCDs and can contribute to the larger goal. This may be difficult to achieve initially, but I believe a more integrated
role would benefit the countries burden of disease.
As a side opinion, if we decrease the burden on NCDs in society, then when and if we have another pandemic, our health systems won’t feel the effects as heavily as
they did earlier in the year as most people with CVD or diabetes had an increased mortality risk.
However diverse the global health organisations can approach their responses to each national health burden, I think that it would be beneficial to globally set a
standard for all NCD prevention strategies, then as I stated above, we can delegate the individual needs of each country and thereby each state. This would provide the
world with a basic level of health and primordial/primary prevention of these NCDs as per Magnussen, 2010 stated.
An example of this would be minimising the costs of imports of fresh and locally grown food across to countries that are in need such as in developing countries. This
would provide a global set of standards for the basic needs of fresh staple food such as rice and vegetables. I know that my views are very naïve, but I also believe that
the world needs a more compassionate view of dealing with the prevention strategies of NCDs.
References:
Magnussen, R. (2010). Global health governance and the challenge of chronic, non-communicable
disease. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 38(3), pp. 490 – 507
World Health Organisation. (2020). Responding to non-communicable diseases during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic state of the evidence on COVID-19 and
non-communicable diseases: A rapid review.
I fully agree with your opinion that a joint effort is also required in order to resolve the
issues concerning NCDs. These private companies can do more than encourage wellbeing
and also play a part in improving wellbeing services to prevent and monitor NCDs
properly. It is beneficial to tap into the position of the private sector to leverage
opportunities to better meet the community's need for NCD prevention, control and
management. I also like that you have been able to emphasise the obstacles that are
emerging to overcome this integration and collaboration. Working with the private sector,
the public health community will not always be at ease, and further studies would be
required to continue improving modes of interaction and conflict of interest management.
It will also be critical that protections, such as monitoring and accountability mechanisms
and open communication and agreements, continue to be placed in place. Indeed, in this
regard, reinforcing the influence of WHO as the only organisation with an clear mandate
to ensure "the enjoyment of the highest attainable quality of health without distinction of
ethnicity, faith, political opinion, economic or social status" for all citizens is paramount in
an era of abundance of global health actors and complex global health architecture.
