ABSTRACT
As a concept, global health (GH) is gaining popularity and momentum yet, as the term has emerged from many perspectives and disciplines, it has been varyingly interpreted by different people and will continue to be. Global health emphasizes transnational health issues, determinants, and solutions; involves many disciplines within and beyond the health sciences and promotes interdisciplinary collaboration; and is a synthesis of population-based prevention with individual-level clinical care. Globalization in popular terms is as much a socio-cultural as an economic phenomenon, involving the evolution of common understanding of ideas, languages, foods and popular culture. The basic concepts of epidemiological transition (ET) are widely recognized, with some preferring the term 'health transition', which implies a greater attention to the social, economic and healthcare contexts of the changes. Demographic ageing affects almost all countries, and the global pace of ageing is also likely to switch over the coming decades from the currently demographically older regions.
