The Healthcare System in Third-World Countries

Ayesha Louis Abary, 6/2/24

What is Healthcare And Why Is It So Important?

Healthcare is the effort to maintain and improve a person’s physical or mental well-being with the help of trained and certified professionals. About 43 countries worldwide provide safe and free healthcare for all. Those countries include Brazil, Austria, Canada, Italy, Japan and Belgium. However, some countries, such as The Philippines, Bangladesh, Niger and Haiti can’t say the same. People from these third-world countries often don’t have access to health services than those in “better-off" countries. According to WHO, approximately 30% of the global population do not have access to medicine. The percentile rises up to, as high as, 50% when talking about the poorest countries in Africa and Asia. 

Lack of medicine, health services, resources and expensive costs stand in the way of providing good quality healthcare services to these third-world countries and therefore, causes an increase in death. It is estimated that about 8.4 million deaths happen worldwide due to people’s healthcare needs not being met correctly. To stop this never-ending phenomena, we must face the challenges and do something about it. 

Most Common Diseases in Third-World Countries

It is estimated that about 14 million people die worldwide due to poverty-related diseases. Some of the most common forms of diseases are Tuberculosis, AIDS/HIV and Malaria. These diseases are the leading causes of death in these poverty-stricken countries. In African countries such as Nigeria and Kenya, about 90% of malaria-caused deaths occur. In addition, infant mortality and maternal mortality are also leading causes of death in these third-world countries due to lack of basic resources such as food and water, and also the lack of necessary healthcare services.

What Can We Do About This?

Third-world countries face a variety of different problems, such as poverty and lack basic necessities such as healthcare and education. Nevertheless, there are a number of steps that can be taken to alleviate these problems and improve the lives of the people suffering from them. Improving access to free healthcare is a good start as many third-world countries suffer from various diseases and illnesses. Improving access to these services can help prevent and improve the overall health of populations. Other ways to improve the lives of millions, is to promote economic development and even to simply educate the people on what is going on and ways that they can help.