WASHINGTON DC, Jan 20 (IPS) – Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated every year on January 20th. He was a leader in the civil rights movement who fought for equality and justice, especially for black people, through peaceful protests and powerful speeches. This day falls on the third Monday of January every year and is close to his birthday, January 15th. This day is a time to remember his accomplishments, meditate on his message of fairness and non-violence, and engage in volunteer work to help others in the community. .
As a global health equity advocate, MLK Day holds special meaning to me as we remember him as a health equity champion. He rightly identified health inequality as the worst form of social injustice. In his 1966 speech to the Second National Convention of the Commission on Human Rights and Medicine, MLK said, “Of all forms of inequality, health injustice is the most shocking and inhumane.” I couldn’t agree more.
Growing up as a high school student in Nigeria in the 1980s, I was introduced to MLK while reading Ebony magazine. I nostalgically remember walking down the street to the bookstore to buy an old copy of a magazine.
These magazines introduced me to black American social justice debates, including the work of MLK and Thurgood Marshall. It was an opportunity to connect spiritually with Africans in the diaspora, namely black Americans, and their struggles. What impressed me most as a child was MLK’s nonviolent call for racial justice.
After high school, I went to medical school in Nigeria to begin my training as a doctor. By the time I graduated in 1998, it was clear that patients’ rights must be respected in the provision of health care. As healthcare workers, we must prioritize preventive care while providing patients with the care they need.
At the time, I didn’t know the correct terminology for my beliefs. Working in global health for decades has led me to understand a term of my own faith: health equity. In 2018, I gave my first TEDx talk titled “Nothing Without Health.” This is why MLK’s argument that health injustice is the worst form of inequality resonates so deeply with me. Healthcare, or lack thereof, is truly a matter of life and death.
Globally, health inequalities are diverse and largely preventable. Neglected tropical diseases, maternal mortality, and malnutrition vividly reflect the global health injustices predicted by MLK.
neglected tropical diseases
Want to see a perfect example of a disease that disproportionately affects the poor? Look no further than Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). These diseases affect 1.6 billion people worldwide, mainly in Africa and Asia. Many people do not realize that things like those mentioned in the Bible still exist today.
A representative example is leprosy. It is a slow-growing bacterial infection that affects the skin, nerves, and sometimes the eyes and nose. Surprisingly, in 2024, there was a significant increase in leprosy cases in the United States, especially in the Southeast, with Central Florida identified as a hotspot.
Data shows that about 34% of new cases reported between 2015 and 2020 were local. If left untreated, leprosy can cause numbness and deformities. Fortunately, leprosy is completely treatable with antibiotics if caught early.
Other NTDs include river blindness, trachoma, and noma. Noma is especially heartbreaking. It mainly affects children between the ages of six who are malnourished, live in unsanitary conditions, or have weak immune systems.
Noma begins as an ulcer in the mouth, but can destroy facial tissue and leave severe deformities if left untreated. Although noma can be prevented through proper hygiene, nutrition and health care, it remains a reality in some of the poorest regions of the world.
maternal mortality rate
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) captures the essence of safe motherhood in its statement: “No woman should die while giving life.” Tragically, this is not the case for many women in low- and middle-income countries, and even in wealthy countries.
In Nigeria alone, more than 80,000 women die each year during pregnancy, childbirth, or soon after childbirth. One professor likened Nigeria’s high maternal mortality rate to putting pregnant women on commercial jets and crashing them every day. This is a haunting image. This gross injustice must not continue.
In contrast, the United States has a higher maternal mortality rate compared to other wealthy countries. This is largely due to the disproportionately high maternal mortality rate among black women. Black women are still two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy and childbirth than white women, regardless of their level of education or socioeconomic status.
The solution to preventing maternal deaths is not rocket science. Prenatal care must identify high-risk pregnancies and women must have access to adequate nutrition to reduce the risk of postpartum hemorrhage, a leading cause of maternal death. With proper planning and preparation, including cesarean section and access to emergency services, these deaths are preventable. Addressing these gaps could save countless lives.
malnutrition
Malnutrition is a double-edged sword. This can manifest itself as undernutrition (not getting enough nutrients) or overnutrition (eating too much). Both forms can be fatal, especially in children under 5 years of age. Children with nutritional deficiencies do not grow properly (wasting) and their brain development is impaired, resulting in stunted growth.
Globally, 22% of children suffer from stunted growth, 90% of which occur in Africa and Asia. On the other hand, overnutrition causes obesity, which increases the risk of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes.
The solution is simple. Supporting mothers to exclusively breastfeed for six months, educating communities on how to prepare nutritious meals using affordable, local foods, and investing in school feeding programs. Taking these steps will dramatically reduce the impact of malnutrition.
MLK’s vision for health justice shapes my global health equity journey. On MLK Day, let us reflect on health injustices around the world and pledge to end them. Identify one health issue you are passionate about and take meaningful action to address it.
MLK was right. Health injustice is the worst form of inequality. Because without health there is nothing.
Happy MLK Day!
Dr. Ifeanyi M. Nsofora public health physician, global health equity advocate, and behavioral science researcher, serves on the Global Fellows Advisory Board of the Atlantic Institute in Oxford, England. You can follow @Ifeanyi Nsofor, MD on LinkedIn.
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