The Dilemma of Universal Healthcare

Deva Sankar, 8/11/24

The vast majority of deaths and disabilities among the global population are caused by diseases that have accepted treatment modalities. Then why do they occur? The answer is the vicious dilemma of non-accessibility unavailability and unaffordability of essential healthcare services.

The mere thought that deprival of medical justice becomes the reason for the death of innumerable young individuals in the sub-Saharan part of the world should fill shame and agony in the minds of people who boast of bombarding money in experimental anti-aging therapies.

According to the WHO Universal Health Coverage Global Monitoring Report 2023 titled Tracking UHC, about 4.5 billion people that is more than half of the world population are still not covered by essential health services and about 2 billion people face severe financial hardships when paying out of pocket for the products and services they need. And it excludes the potential long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. *

When we deal with financial expenditure on health in a global scenario it would be better to specify that low- and middle-income countries relied heavily on out-of-pocket spending whereas conditions were better in upper-middle- and high-income countries. United States of America alone accounted for 42 % of total global health expenditure which was the same amount of 8 lower income countries combined in 2019. *

Infectious and parasitic diseases accounted for the largest share of health spending, followed by non-communicable diseases according to global spending on health from 2000 – 2019 released by WHO. *

Accessibility of health care decreases due to various reasons of which extreme terrains unstable and unsafe environments for workforce political instability are the commonest, especially in African countries.

Unstable political economy, calamity-prone geography, terrorism, and civil and international warfare push the innocent families living there into poverty causing malnutrition and associated diseases as well as unaffordability to basic health care.

Though the situation sounds far from drastic improvement the works by several nonprofit organizations and some funded by the World Bank are highly commendable some of them are WHO, Water School, The Global Health Council, Village Reach, International Child Care, UNICEF, Partners in Health, Core Group, Doctors of the World and so on.

Some groups focus on specific diseased groups like Fistula Foundation, SIGN Fracture Care International, and Combat Blindness International.

The most promising step would be the implementation of Universal Health Coverage with combined efforts of the World Bank and WHO which is expected to be achieved by 2030. 

Contributing to such valuable global initiatives and organizing regional financial help groups, demanding government initiatives for maximum health insurance coverage for at least the low-income population of the state, encouraging more non-profit organizations with similar goals, tax reduction on drugs and healthcare facilities are some positive steps that would take us close to the goal of ensuring right to health for all.