Ecology of Health

• Ecology is defined as the science of mutual relationship between living organisms

and their environments
• Health, according to ecological concepts, is visualized as a state of dynamic
equilibrium between man and his environment
• By constantly altering his environment or ecosystem by such activities as
urbanization, industrialization, deforestation, land reclamation, construction of
irrigation canals and dams, man has created for himself new health problems
• Diseases at one time thought to be primarily "rural" (e.g., filariasis) have acquired
serious urban dimensions. The agents of a number of diseases, for example,
malaria and chikungunya fever, which were effectively controlled have shown a
resurgence
Ecology of Health
• Man's intrusion into ecological cycles of disease has resulted in zoonotic diseases
such as kyasanur forest disease, rabies, yellow fever, monkeypox, lassa fever, etc.

• Construction of irrigation systems and artificial lakes has created ecological niches
favoring the breeding of mosquitoes and snails. In fact, ecological factors are at
the root of the geographic distribution of disease.

• Good public health is basically good ecology

Right to Health
• Historically, the right to health was one of the last to be proclaimed in the Constitutions
of most countries of the world
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights established a breakthrough in 1948, by stating in
Article 25: "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and
well-being of himself and his family..... ".
• The Preamble to the WHO Constitution also affirms that it is one of the fundamental
rights of every human being to enjoy "the highest attainable standard of health"
• Some countries have used the term "right to health protection" which is assured by a
comprehensive system of social insurance that provides material security in cases of
illness or accident, and free medical education, medicaments and other necessary
materials and the right to be cared for by society in old age and invalidity
Responsibility for Health
• Individual responsibility
• Community responsibility
• State responsibility
• International responsibility
• Health and development: Health is essential to socio-economic
development

• Health development is defined as "the process of continuous

progressive improvement of the health status of a population"