CommitteesGA Committees
ECONOMIC & SOCIAL COUNCILS
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World Health Organization (WHO)Chairs: Isabella Zelaya Alves & Claire Jiang Email: isazel25@bergen.org & clajia26@bergen.org Topic A: Effects of Urbanization on Human Health The global pharmaceutical industry has been beneficial for many throughout the world to get the medication necessary to live, yet drugs remain the third leading cause of death as “Big Pharma” becomes more dedicated to profit than safety and efficacy. At the same rate, they also make large-scale donations to some of the world’s wealthiest, including politicians, to ensure that they maintain their dominance. Many have likened this mentality to “organized crime.” On top of this, from 2007 to 2012, some of the largest pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Abbott, Johnson and Johnson, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis, and GlaxoSmithKline, were fined to pay $95 million to $3 billion over fraud in Medicaid and Medicare, dismissing data that indicated danger in their drugs, misrepresentation of clinical data, and illegal marketing. It was likely that during each commercial break of the average one hour show there will be at least two drug marketing advertisements in 2020. Each year, in the United States, 100,000 individuals die from drugs, either errors in creation or incorrect dosage and maintenance. This has led to the presence of epidemics of prescription drugs and tobacco, while misuse and off-label prescriptions are the norm, such as the recent case of Ozempic for weight loss. Even further, some drugs remain too expensive for the average consumer without Medicare or Medicaid coverage, which can be unfairly increased for a variety of reasons. In the sum, the for-profit model of “Big Pharma” requires reform to help the most vulnerable, Topic B: Reforming the Global Pharmaceutical IndustryWhile society often labels urbanization as a means of development and progress in our world, its impacts on human health have become increasingly alarming. It is projected that by 2041, 6 billion people will be living in urban areas and as it currently stands, 56% of the world lives in these areas. As resources and advancements continue to develop in urban areas, an influx of people congregate, leading to issues such as overcrowding, infectious diseases, pollution, lack of access to clean water, among others. These health problems disporportionately impact impoverished people, yet, that does not mean that urbanization does not impact all types of people. Continued urbanization also creates a dangerous amount of pollution, which has been a long standing problem. It is imperative that delegates recognize and tackle the underlying causes of this problem as our world continues to rapidly grow. |
