by Keiron Audain

Created on: July 04, 2008   Last Updated: September 25, 2009

The factors that directly contribute to the state of global health as it stands today cannot be adequately addressed without placing significant emphasis on the issue of unequal development that exists among different regions of the world.

For each factor that affects global health, ranging from infectious diseases to climate change, the underlying root of the problem primarily lie in the contributors to the vast disparity that exists in the way different regions have developed in relatively recent years.

Although the idea of inequality among different societies has probably been in existence during ancient human civilisations, an observation of contemporary global history from the rise of capitalism, the impact of colonial rule, up to the more recent issue of globalisation, has seen the shaping of the socioeconomic and political structure of the world to what we know it as today, where the improvement in the quality of life in one region of the world can often have a destabilising effect on the quality of life of people living in a different region. Thus the poor state of global health can possibly be seen as a direct consequence of not only the current societal structure in which we live, but also the attitudes of the people that live in both rich and poor societies.

The heavily daunting reality that the majority people in the world will on any given night go to sleep hungry, probably without having eaten for the entire day, has an evident implication on the state of health of the world's poor. This therefore further cements the argument that global health is an issue of national and regional development, which is grossly affected by the issue of economics.

The economy of any country largely depends on the ability to trade its commodities, including its natural resources, in exchange for goods and services the country may need to assist with its development. During the colonial era, as many developing countries had no claim to self-governance, there was very little attempt at addressing the issue of economic and social development. Therefore, although the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT - a multilateral treaty concerning international trade that preceded the WTO) included the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) clause that ensured "legal treatment for all, irrespective of other factors, including the level of economic development", 1 this often excluded poorer countries, who were often relegated to a position of economic and political inferiority at the international

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