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Reflecting on trends relevant to post-pandemic global health economics and policy
Summary
A post-pandemic global health editorial identifies microplastics as an emerging environmental risk factor alongside established threats like air pollution, unsafe water, and non-communicable disease burdens. The inclusion of microplastics in a macroeconomic health policy review underscores their growing recognition as a mainstream public health concern requiring regulatory attention.
This editorial reviews major global health trends relevant to economic and policy research in the post-pandemic era. Over the past two decades, significant progress has been achieved in improving global health, particularly through reductions in maternal and child mortality and improved control of several infectious diseases. However, this progress has been accompanied by a growing burden of non-communicable diseases, which now account for nearly three quarters of global deaths. At the same time, persistent inequalities remain between high-income and low-income countries, where infectious diseases, weak health systems, and limited access to essential services continue to pose major challenges. The editorial highlights several emerging risk factors and structural determinants shaping global health outcomes. These include the increasing prevalence of hypertension and obesity, ongoing deficiencies in access to safe drinking water and sanitation, widespread exposure to air pollution, and new environmental concerns such as microplastics. Although access to health services has improved globally, rising out-of-pocket expenditures and unequal distribution of health spending continue to threaten equitable health care access, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragility of many health systems, disrupted routine services, and contributed to millions of excess deaths worldwide. It also revealed major global inequalities in vaccine access, health workforce capacity, and health system resilience. The pandemic has temporarily reversed gains in life expectancy and highlighted the need for stronger investment in primary health care and sustainable health system financing. In response to these challenges, the Journal of Global Health Economics and Policy calls for research that advances economic and policy solutions to strengthen health systems, reduce health inequalities, and support sustainable progress toward universal health coverage in a rapidly changing global health landscape.