Contemporary Global Health Challenges

This unit examines current and emerging global health challenges in the context of a complex and changing world and how today’s threats to human health risk erasing the public health gains of the last century. Globalisation, demographic transition, urbanisation, climate change and environmental degradation are driving changes in global patterns and burden of disease with a growing global epidemic in non-communicable disease and the re-emergence of infectious diseases as a global problem, as evident with the COVID-19 pandemic. Colonisation continues to have a profound impact on the health and wellbeing of First Nations people in Australia and across the world. Through a health equity lens, students will study the differential impacts of global health threats on diverse population and using strength-based approaches will investigate how populations can adapt to become more resilient. Global health commitments and how they can be translated to local action are explored using real life scenarios. Global health and sustainable development are interdependent and this unit will examine how the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) provide an opportunity to engage the whole of society to address the determinants of health for a healthy planet and better health for all.