Events are to be held all over the world today as we mark World Humanitarian Day.
At BMJ Case Reports we look back at our Global Health case reports and thousands of clinical cases from across the globe that remind us of the place of Medicine in the alleviation of suffering, advocacy for human rights and rights to health for the world’s most vulnerable communities.
From mental health in Ethiopia to rural medicine in Trinidad, from appendicitis in Greenland to dementia in the Dominican Republic, we are reminded of the enormous investment of resources necessary to bring essential care to our patients. Sir Michael Marmot writes “most racial/ethnic inequalities in health can be attributed to social determinants of health, as can socioeconomic inequalities”and “given that the causes of disease and violence are likely to be the same wherever we find them, it follows that the remedies should be similar”. He lists the solutions: “early child development, education and lifelong learning, employment and working conditions, minimum income for healthy living, healthy and sustainable communities, and social determinants approach to prevention” [1]
BMJ Case Reports is a world renowned resource for the management of complex or challenging medical conditions but we are also documenting efforts to tackle the social determinants of health and assist communities in meeting their health needs. We celebrate the tireless work of our colleagues today as we focus our attention again on the plight of people in need of the most basic and compassionate care.
BMJ Case Reports is launching a call for Global Health Associate Editors. We are looking for medical students and junior doctors in their internship years to join our Editorial Team. For more information, see our website or get in touch: bmjcases@bmj.com
References
[1] Michael G. Marmot. Empowering Communities. American Journal of Public Health: February 2016, Vol. 106, No. 2, pp. 230-231. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302991
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302991