Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
simple statements of Dr. blackwell and Shi Huangdi have presided over canadian
healthcare history.
In the current post-September 11 atmosphere and post-severe acute respiratory
syndrome (SarS) environment, one cannot underestimate the imperative of dealing
aggressively with all determinants of health. not surprisingly, canada's health
goals have continued to evolve as new challenges differentiate the current global
environment from its past. those goals are different in terms of understanding one's
responsibility to the world—to make the world a healthy place for all people through
leadership, collaboration, and knowledge.
this chapter explores the importance of the SarS pandemic as a catalyst in this
shift. Its observations are largely informed by my role as Canada's first minister
of state for public health, from 2003 to 2005, and by my subsequent experience,
including participating in Global Pandemic Influenza Readiness, an international
conference of health ministers from 30 countries and representatives from nine
international organizations in 2005. With this experience as a backdrop, this chapter
examines the way in which the encounter with SarS prompted canada to take a
leadership position in pandemic preparedness as well as the way in which this type
of preparedness improves public health infrastructure in the world—in surveillance,
capacity, and all of the elements that will make this a healthier planet.
the by-product of preparing for a pandemic is the forced re-evaluation of
existing systems and a focus on the necessity of a proper public health infrastructure
around the globe. For western countries, which have recaptured an interest in public
health, this has been immensely important. the focus on Douglas's original views
of medicare—keeping people healthy rather than patching them up—seems to have
been blurred in favour of a sickness care system and a dependence on the development
of miracle drugs that will cure all ails. In this respect, our health objectives have
faltered in the 'tyranny of the acute'.
as David naylor points out, examples of actual and potential harm to the health
of canadians from weaknesses in public health infrastructure have been mounting
for years without a truly comprehensive and multi-level governmental response
(National Advisory Committee on SARS and Public Health [Naylor report] 2003).
as a wake-up call, the upstream reality of what canada learned from the walkerton
experience, where seven people died as a result of
E. coli
contamination of the
public water supply in 2000, and what should have been learned from HIv/aIDS,
sounded in concert with the SarS experience. the call served as a reminder that
there is a serious need for global governance on health. canada's response can be
considered in the context of the impact of SarS on toronto, the lessons learned from
the experience of toronto's fellow cities of Hong Kong, Hanoi, and bangkok, and
the hope and encouragement experienced at the 2005 health ministers conference
in Ottawa. However, it is important first to establish the lenses through which this
examination will be viewed.
First, Ursula Franklin provides an overarching perspective on governance, in
particular, her decree that governance must be fair, transparent, and take people
