Global Health Terminology
Any attribute, characteristic or exposure of an individual that increases the likelihood of developing a disease or injury
What is a risk factor?
This Seattle Based ex-couple started one of the world’s largest private aid organizations.
Who are Bill and Melinda Gates?
An infectious bacteria disease characterized by the growth of nodules (tubercles) in the tissues, especially the lungs.
What is tuberculosis?
An infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020.
What is COVID-19?
The most common cause of preventable death in children under five worldwide.
What is pneumonia?
Conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life.
What is a social determinant of health?
An international organization whose mission is "to bring the benefits of modern medical science to those most in need of them and to serve as an antidote to despair." Founded by Paul Farmer in 1987.
What is Partners in Health?
A virus that attacks the body's immune system. If not treated, it can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
What is HIV?
The acronym for the United Nations Children's Fund.
UNICEF
This vitamin deficiency is a leading cause of blindness in children worldwide.
What is vitamin A deficiency?
A term referred to a disease that is “natural to, prevalent within, and confined to a particular area.” We hope COVID-19 will reach this stage soon.
What is endemic?
Established in the United Kingdom in 1919, this organization works to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic opportunities, as well as providing emergency aid in natural disasters, war, and other conflicts. Middlebury alumn, Charles MacCormack, was president of this organization from 1993 through 2011.
What is Save the Children?
A highly contagious, viral disease that causes fever and red rashes on the skin. Declared eliminated from the United States in 2000 by the WHO.
What is measles?
This institution, with its headquarters in Geneva, is the United Nations’ specialized agency for addressing world health issues.
What is the WHO (World Health Organization)?
The condition in which a mother loses too much blood during or after childbirth.
What is postpartum hemorrhage?
This term describes areas where residents have limited access to affordable and nutritious food.
What are food deserts?
The largest humanitarian network in the world with a presence and activities in almost every country. Its mission is to "help those who suffer, without discrimination, whether during conflict, in response to natural or man-made disasters, or due to conditions of chronic poverty."
What is the international Red Cross network?
A disabling and life-threatening disease spread from person to person, infecting an individual's spinal cord, and causing paralysis.
What is polio?
The difference between the age at which one died and the highest life expectancy known for people that age.
What is YLL (Years of Life Lost)?
This global initiative aims to improve maternal health as one of its key goals.
What are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?
This term describes the phenomenon when a region faces both infectious diseases and an increase in non-communicable diseases simultaneously.
What is the double burden of disease?
This initiative launched in 2002 provides life-saving HIV/AIDS medications to low-income countries.
What is PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief)?
This parasitic disease, commonly known as "river blindness," is transmitted through the bites of blackflies
What is onchocerciasis?
This acronym refers to the metric used to measure the burden of disease, combining years of life lost due to premature mortality and years lived with disability.
What is DALY (Disability-Adjusted Life Year)?
This complication of pregnancy, marked by high blood pressure, can lead to severe outcomes for both mother and baby.
What is preeclampsia?