We live in a country that believes everyone is entitled to certain basic rights which are the rights to food, clean water, adequate shelter and economic and educational opportunities. One basic right that’s often overlooked is the right to health. It does not mean everyone has the right to be disease free or have the ability to universal good health. It means that the opportunity to live a healthy lifestyle in a safe healthful environment, with access to basic health services when ill, should be available. Most developing countries fail to provide access to these health services. The study of international health seeks to secure people’s right to health, by using first world resources to address health problems in developing countries. For example, in Central America there is no government sponsored vaccination program. In West Africa, there is a lack of access to information about birth control. In its broadest sense international health is a systematic consideration of all the factors that affect the health of human populations. Among these factors are the genetic, ethnic, and cultural makeup of individuals and groups; the natural environment, including biologic, physical, and climatologic aspects; the political and economic environment; and special circumstances such as population migration, warfare, and violence. Finding solutions to these factors requires information and techniques from many different disciplines. No matter the discipline, the objectives is to help address contemporary health problems and satisfy the health related needs of people around the world who are unable to answer the needs appropriately on their own.
Cultural anthropologists have been involved in the field of international health since 1950. While government may deal with the individual, anthropologists deal with the population. They often draw on anthropological theories, field methods, and comparative ethnographic information about health. The main point is to help...