For the past decades, back to the era of the Latvian Soviet union, the civilization of Eastern Europe has been a place where diseases are common. Latvia has suffered from many outbreaks of diseases (non-communicable and communicable) such as HIV and Malaria. Latvia’s neighboring countries, Belarus and Russia, both suffer from HIV and Malaria effects. Belarus is the second highest European country to be influenced by the validities of HIV and Malaria. The spreading of HIV and Malaria leads to the transition of medical diversities seen in Eastern Europe. The burden of disease holds a high risk for countries with lower incomes and higher health risks. Eastern Europe has partnered with the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2013 to discontinue the spread of the HIV and Malaria diseases, but not for the spread of non-communicable diseases which are the main cause of death across the world. The world health organization (WHO) and Latvia wish to continue their alliance facing these issues, but want to proceed in bettering the approach of solving the problem and setting a solution.
Non communicable diseases are the most common diseases spread around the world. The well-known non communicable diseases are cancer, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructed pulmonary disease and asthma), cardiovascular diseases (like heart attacks and stroke), and diabetes. Non communicable diseases are known to kill about 38 million people a year. The diseases are illnesses that generally progress slowly. The diseases are not infectious or transmissible to other human beings. Cancer or other non-communicable diseases are caused by sexually transmitted diseases, such as HIV/AIDs, tobacco, obesity, and air pollution. The double burden of disease is the prevalence or risk factors of chronic diseases. The double burden of diseases is when a country or area is affected by non-communicable diseases.
Malaria is a disease commonly carried by mosquitos. The mosquitos carry protozoan parasite Plasmodium that is transmitted by anopheles mosquitoes, commonly found in parts of Africa. The increase in cultural dispersion has opened the door to the growth in population change of the mosquitos. Malaria is not an infectious disease, but contact with a malaria infected person's blood will spread the disease because of the parasites presented in the blood.
The existence of Malaria and HIV on an international level for Latvia influences the rate at which it spreads. Internationally there are about 500 million individuals living with Malaria and approximately 1 million die from the disease. It is estimated that 33 million people are living with the defect, HIV and 2 million die from it each year. In 2011, the political declaration for HIV and AIDS called on the international community to station between 22 billion and 24 billion dollars for a response to HIV globally to benefit low and middle income countries. The resolution for the HIV and Malaria epidemic is to put money into vaccines, start antiretroviral treatment, and program coordination. Latvia coincides with the World Health Organization (WHO) which is processing all of these resolutions.
Nationally, Latvia is under the Millennium Declaration brought to attention in 2000. The declaration invested US 51.6 billion dollars into HIV, 11.3 dollars into Malaria, and 8.3 billion dollars into tuberculosis, which is a current epidemic spreading in Latvia. Latvia’s rate of physician care is 3.58 physicians per 1000 people. (Comprehensive) This by far exceeds the uncanny range of health care to defeat the spread or to contain the diseases HIV and Malaria. Belarus, being the 2nd highest in HIV and Malaria in Eastern Europe is also a neighboring country. Latvia is surrounded by countries contaminated by these diseases. By being surrounded, Latvia has a higher rate possible contamination.
Latvia is one of the only countries that have elected a female president, Vaira Vike- Freiberga. Being a country battling HIV, Malaria, and tuberculosis the president doesn't have a lot to say about the issue. She tells the European Union, “The European union should stop working like the former soviet union” (quotehd). Being the president of a country full of soviet history, she realizes that ignoring one issue leads to the next. By saying so, she has opened the thought of many changes in the country. Not just the openness to save people from HIV and Malaria and non-communicable diseases. Vaira Vike- Freiberga tells us, “We have a great opportunity to move beyond the past and learn the lessons of that painful history” (quotehd). This quote could tie into the Soviet Union, but it could also tie into the painful memories of the lives lost from HIV and Malaria. We can learn from the lives we have lost and strive to better the lives we have. The WHO has discovered a lot of background on the double burden of disease, the director of the WHO organization Department of Health Statistics and Informatics, Ties Boerma said “Everyone must develop a health system that addresses the full range of the health threats in both areas.” The director said this to explain a brief resolution to the problem of the double burden of disease.
The main treatment for HIV and Malaria is antiretroviral treatment (ART). In Latvia the coverage for the region is inadequate with a percentage of 35%. There has been 110000 new HIV infections discovered in Eastern Europe and they have had 53,000 AIDS related deaths. In Latvia 20% of the adults are on antiretroviral treatment. These statistics could save lives if raised adequately.
Latvia’s recommendation for a resolution is to treat HIV infected individuals receiving the medication cotrimoxazole prophylaxis, and that they should also be treated with antiretroviral drugs other than SP. This will substantially reduce transmission of Malaria to other household members. The World Health Organization (WHO) should issue medical institutions or places that will subscribe insecticide- impregnated bed nets, mosquito repellant, cotrimoxazole prophylaxis, and provisions of ART. These subscriptions will lower the incidence of febrile episodes of Malaria. The avoidance of unnatural births and deaths of mother and baby can be avoided with at least 3 doses of SP given monthly at routine prenatal clinics visits during the 2nd and 3rd trimester of pregnancy. The resolution for Eastern Europe was to have WHO create and fund clinics in Latvia and the Eastern part of Europe to distribute these materials for people in need. Their aim donated funds to stop the spread, stopping epidemics will help us to find a vaccination because the testing won't be multiple cases and it will be formed in a less pleasurable state. Latvia’s resolution stands clear in the state of finances and can be issued throughout Eastern Europe and Africa.
Eastern Europe has paired up with the WHO in 2013 about the matter of HIV and Malaria. They have not joined together to discuss and attack the problem of the burden of disease but need to do so. Some of the poorest countries in Eastern Europe are Ukraine and Romania which are neighboring countries of Latvia. Not much information is known about Latvia, but looking at its neighboring countries we can predict that it is struggling with the same financial disadvantages. These financial disadvantages hold major risk factors to the double burden of disease or non-communicable diseases.
The resolution that Latvia suggests is to bring awareness to the problems the country faces about the burden of disease. Our knowledge of the cure for cancer and diabetes are minimum, so our only way of solving the problem is to prevent these diseases. We can do this by spreading the risk factors such as smoking, drinking, drugs, but most of the diseases are caused genetically. We could put mo9ney toward trying to find a cure or way of decreasing the rate at which people receive the diseases. Latvia and Eastern Europe are in need of the partnership with the WHO for a second time, but this time they (we) want to attack these issues head on.