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Concept
Diseases of poverty
Summary
Diseases of poverty (also known as poverty-related diseases) are diseases that are more prevalent in low-income populations. They include infectious diseases, as well as diseases related to malnutrition and poor health behaviour. Poverty is one of the major social determinants of health. The World Health Report (2002) states that diseases of poverty account for 45% of the disease burden in the countries with high poverty rate which are preventable or treatable with existing interventions. Diseases of poverty are often co-morbid and ubiquitous with malnutrition. Poverty increases the chances of having these diseases as the deprivation of shelter, safe drinking water, nutritious food, sanitation, and access to health services contributes towards poor health behaviour. At the same time, these diseases act as a barrier for economic growth to affected people and families caring for them which in turn results into increased poverty in the community. These diseases produced in part by poverty are in contrast to diseases of affluence, which are diseases thought to be a result of increasing wealth in a society.
Poverty and infectious diseases are causally related. Even before the time of vaccines and antibiotics, before 1796, it can be speculated that, leaders were adequately protected in their castles with decent food and standard accommodation, conversely, the vast majority of people were living in modest, unsanitary homes; cohabiting with their animals. During this time people were unknowingly dying of infectious diseases in an event that; they touched their sick animals, had cuts in their skins, drank something that was not boiled or ate food that was contaminated by microbes. To exacerbate the situation, epidemics known as plagues then would emerge and wipe out the whole community. During this time, people had no knowledge on infectious diseases and their causes. After speculations that their illnesses were being caused by an invisible army of tiny living beings, microorganisms, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek invented the first microscope that confirmed the existence of microorganisms that cannot be visualised with the naked eye (around the 17th century).
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Neglected tropical diseases
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of tropical infections that are common in low-income populations in developing regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. They are caused by a variety of pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and parasitic worms (helminths). These diseases are contrasted with the "big three" infectious diseases (HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria), which generally receive greater treatment and research funding.
Social determinants of health
The social determinants of health (SDOH) are the economic and social conditions that influence individual and group differences in health status. They are the health promoting factors found in one's living and working conditions (such as the distribution of income, wealth, influence, and power), rather than individual risk factors (such as behavioral risk factors or genetics) that influence the risk for a disease, or vulnerability to disease or injury.
Health equity
Health equity arises from access to the social determinants of health, specifically from wealth, power and prestige. Individuals who have consistently been deprived of these three determinants are significantly disadvantaged from health inequities, and face worse health outcomes than those who are able to access certain resources. It is not equity to simply provide every individual with the same resources; that would be equality. In order to achieve health equity, resources must be allocated based on an individual need-based principle.