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The World Health Organization and the Millennium Development Goals

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The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Millennium Development Goals

WHO provides financial support to countries across the globe to help in achieving

various health programs. The finances help to cater for insurance covers, purchase medical

equipment and medicines, and employ more health providers. Most developing countries lack

adequate financial resources to fund health programs, the reason why they carry a heavy burden

of diseases and deaths (Coyne, 2019). For instance, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the WHO

contributed greatly to developing countries and some of the developed member countries. The

money helped in constructing emergency rooms well equipped for only the Covid-19 patients.

Secondly, WHO directs and coordinates countries achieving health programs. In each member

country, the organization has leaders that represent it monitoring performance and assessing the

health outcomes. Thirdly, it provides guidelines on how research should be done as per

Evidence-Based Practice. It also contributes to medical laboratories’ equipment that enables

evidence-based research that aims to improve the quality of healthcare. The research findings

help in knowing the causes of various diseases and hence finding medical treatment for diseases

(Coyne, 2019). Lastly, WHO sets healthcare standards to be used globally to promote quality and

safety for patients and nurses. For instance, autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice

are some of the nursing ethical standards set to improve healthcare performance. It provides the

criteria to certify qualified nurses and award the best hospital performers.

The Millennium Developmental Goals (MDGs) commit to eliminating extra poverty and

hunger, advocating for gender equality, achieving universal basic and advanced education,

improving quality healthcare for all vulnerable groups, and partnering with countries for

development. Several summits like those of 2000, 2015, and 2020 have been held across the

globe to advocate for better social, economic, and academic general well-being (Adachi, 2022).
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It, therefore, helps countries to achieve the millennium development goals through financial

support provided as grants. Diseases, extreme poverty and hunger, health disparities,

unemployment, lack of quality education, and extreme weather changes have become a major

burden for developing and some developed countries, hence raising a global concern (Adachi,

2022).

Selected Millennium Development Goal

Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Other Diseases

The MDG is putting efforts into reducing HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and other diseases to

improve healthy living. Diseases have become a great burden for the developing and developed

countries, hence diverting development energy to focusing on dealing with diseases. Diseases

contribute to the existence of poverty since more resources are used to treat diseases. Countries

bearing health problems are less productive because more time and money are used to provide

healthcare. The MDG provides economic and social support to countries to achieve the set goals

concerning quality lives. It funds community-based health programs to ensure it meets their

goals. If HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and other diseases are reduced, this can reduce deaths, and other

effects of diseases (Essien et al., 2021).

Explain three ways the MDG is important for improving global health

The first way MDGs are significant since capital is donated to countries to help them

fund health programs in the effort of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, combat HIV/AIDS

and other diseases, provide universal primary education, and in achieving other health goals

(Adachi, 2022). Secondly, MDGs organizes and develops strategies for nations to promote

healthcare and achieve other goals. Sometimes the MDGs force some counties through strict
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policies to achieve the goals set. Countries with low progress are threatened to be removed from

the list of members. It monitors and assesses the performance of funded nations (Adachi, 2022).

Lastly, unity is strength and joining hands with other nations creates a strong force that drives

development. The MDGs comprise of several nations to plan development programs for the good

of the citizens. The MDGs are essential and will possibly be achieved through pooling together

resources to develop infrastructures like hospitals, roads, schools, and electricity for improving

lives (Adachi, 2022).

Country Selected

Kenya

Kenya has only scored high on achieving universal primary education, according to the

MDG score rating. In Kenya, primary education is free, and there is 100% transition, which

enables most children to receive primary education. The university grade was lowered to C+ to

enable most youths to excel in academics. Unfortunately, Kenya scored lowly based on the MDG

success index since it has slow progress in reducing extreme poverty and hunger, improving

maternal health, and achieving a sustainable environment (Macharia, 2019).

How the Country Is On Track to Meet This MDG or Not

The country is aiming at keeping forests, watering semi-desert areas, and reducing air,

soil, water, and sound pollution to achieve environmental sustainability. There are also

commitments to fund maternal health through a program known as “Linda Mama,” which

ensures registered pregnant women deliver and get other treatments for free. The Kenya

Government has increased the funds to the healthcare insurance program known as National

Hospital Insurance Fund, and it has to increase the number of healthcare tests and services from

200 to 500, plus adding the number of days which a patient can be admitted to hospital. This
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aims to improve equal access to healthcare for close to 48 million people. Finally, the

government is trying to take food to semi-arid areas where citizens die of hunger. It is as well

creating more employment through building industries and giving grants to youths and women

for opening businesses (Macharia, 2019). There is hope that by vision 2030, Kenya would have

successfully achieved most MDGs.

Nursing Roles

Patient education

Nurses design various methods to offer education to patients, concerning healthy living.

Most community-based programs are meant to inform the public on how to live a healthy life.

For instance, nurses educate communities about the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of

disease prevention, to ensure individuals are responsible for stopping diseases from attacking

them. Primary prevention focuses on avoiding preventable diseases like hygienic,

communicable, lifestyle-related ailments, sexually transmitted infections, and nutrient-related

diseases among other illnesses. The secondary prevention level entails treating diseases once

they occur. If an individual detects disease in the body by observing abnormal symptoms, they

should visit a health facility for diagnosis and treatment as earlier as possible. Most diseases like

Malaria, tuberculosis, and cancer are treatable and controllable at an earlier stage (Orte et al.,

2021). Patients can get medical care, recover and continue with their normal life. Lastly, the

tertiary disease prevention level deals with managing diseases that have become chronic and

complex, hence beyond treatment. Advanced kidney disease is one of the diseases that can be

managed. Patients in this stage live with their conditions using medicines for life to reduce pains

resulting from their conditions; hence they learn to cope with the health conditions. Therefore,

people should be responsible for their healthy living since most diseases are avoidable.
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Treatment

Quality health improvement and transformation is the main aim of nurses. Their main

work is to do medical research, discover new and advanced treatment methods, develop effective

nursing models, and identify the causes of diseases to combat them. Every person in the world

has ever visited several hospitals to get treatment for various diseases. Nurses carry out the

nursing process to enable them to offer quality and safe care. The nursing process entails

assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation (Orte et al., 2021). Vaccination

is also one way of treatment that will help in achieving MDG.

Healthcare Disparities

Burden of Disease

Health disparities are avoidable differences in the burden of disease, injury, violence, or

opportunities for optimal health that socially disadvantaged populations face. Diseases like

cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Kidney failure, mental illness, and drug abuse have

become a burden and causing deaths every day. The cost of treatment is too high and most

people do not afford quality care. Most families have low incomes that cannot cater to their

treatment. The ministry of health is fighting corruption that hinders the achievement of quality

care improvement. Despite the WHO’s contribution and commitments to help in combating

HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, the efforts have not produced any fruits. There are unfair

defenses for people with the mentioned health conditions to access and receive healthcare. The

vulnerable population for HIV /AIDS are the youths.

Two Nursing Strategies for Improving the Health Disparity

Health promotion is one of the nursing strategies to reduce the burden of diseases through

enabling, mediating, and advocating. Most diseases are preventable at a primary level, therefore

nurses inform the communities to enable them to control or avoid most diseases. Nurse leaders,

who are politicians, pass some legislation to improve healthcare. For example, they advocate for

the government to increase insurance funds, expand hospitals, and give more drugs and medical

equipment to health facilities for better treatment (Adachi, 2022). Disease prevention is another

strategy, most preferable method of ending the disease burden. Patient education and economic

empowerment are enough to enable the public to prevent disease. The three disease prevention

levels have helped in mitigating the disease burden. Nurses have targeted the youths and women

in the community and post-discharge patient education programs (Orte et al., 2021).

Conclusion

The WHO and MDGs are strong forces combined to drive out extreme poverty, promote

quality global health, achieve universal health, enhance infrastructure developments and ensure

better standards of life for human beings (Coyne, 2019). Supported countries need to be

transparent and responsible in fighting enemies of life, which are diseases, lack of education,

poverty, and unemployment (Adachi, 2022). Nurses, community health providers, political

leaders, and teachers are all crucial stakeholders in implementing the education, health, and

development programs. There is much hope that by 2030, the world would have raised the living

standards of people.
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References

Adachi, K. (2022). Resolution Feedback: The United Nations Special Conferences in the 1990s

And the Millennium Development Goals. Global Studies Quarterly, 2(3), ksac029.

Coyne, P. E. (2019). The World Health Organization Prequalification Programme—playing an

An essential role in assuring quality medical products. International Health, 11(2), 79-80.

Essien, U. R., Dusetzina, S. B., & Gellad, W. F. (2021). A policy prescription for reducing

health disparities—achieving pharmacoequity. Jama, 326(18), 1793-1794.

Macharia, J. (2019). Sustainable Development in Kenya. Horizons: Journal of International

Relations and Sustainable Development, (13), 172-183.

Orte, C. J. S., Nwosu, N. O. B., Maniago, J. D., Matibag, R. S., Corpuz, A. M., & Cabaluna, J.

(2021). Health Promotion Prac-tices in Nursing: A Scoping Review. Pakistan Jour-nal of

Medical and Health Sciences, 15(9), 2273-2278.