Healthcare Evolution: A Challenging Journey - Essay Sample

Introduction

From the past to the contemporary world, healthcare has been consistently treated as a critical aspect of human beings. However, it has similarly kept proving a challenging aspect, as day after day, new disorders emerge, outbreaks occur, pandemics hit regions and the physical, and psychological wellbeing of people sabotaged. Over time, healthcare has evolved in terms of challenges. The most significant challenge it faced decades ago was on the limitation of resources, but this has been gradually solved by numerous donations and investments by governments, states, and non-governmental organizations. This article, however, explores the challenges in healthcare past the availability of funds, as a critical resource, and thus outlines the various structural and logical gaps that exist in healthcare despite the vast availability of funds.

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Differences in the endowment of resources in nations have often created disparities and inequalities in the world, with the most endowed countries garnering comparative advantage over the developing countries. Due to this, many of the governments, organizations, and individuals in the developed countries ventured in endless, relentless donations aimed at saving the situation either as a moral obligation, a depiction of public diplomacy or as an effort to enable economic development globally (Laurie, 2007). The advent of HIV was a concise demonstration of this. In 1996, scientists presented evidence to the international AIDS meeting held in Vancouver of a possible anti-HIV drug, and what followed was a frantic move by victims from developed countries to buy the drug. There was a significant decrease in HIV mortality in these countries, but to the developing countries, the $14,000 annual cost of the drug and a $5,000 complementary fee for medical visits and tests were too much, and therefore, the infected could not have access to the drugs (Laurie, 2007). This was the beginning of a trail of donations, and by 1999 the donation had reached $300 million. The incidence of HIV, however, was beyond this budget and more governments and organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated more and more towards the eradication of HIV and other rampant diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria. The World Bank later joined in by adjusting its policies to not only support economic growth but also support health as an indirect factor to economic development.

However, even with more billions flowing in, the outcome was not impressive. This was a result of the misguided notion that targeting specific diseases would amount to the improvement of health as a whole. Aid and donations had small and short-term targets rather than the general development of health. The funds are often conditional to the policies, politics and values of the donors rather than the interest of the recipients. The structural logistics and complexity of healthcare are also relevant. In many cases, the donations target specific diseases such as HIV to postpartum mothers and their babies, while overlooking basic healthcare needs such as immunizations for the child (Laurie, 2007). Corruption, availability of healthcare personnel, access to healthcare facilities, and nutrition are a few of the many logistics that have to be considered even before pouring money at single holes in the sinking healthcare ship.

The article has incorporated several statistical information, and it is unbelievable that all the outlined sums of money were all dedicated to improving health in Africa, yet their predicament persists. The author has illuminated a critical issue that affects global health, and this is brain drain. Even though the developed countries extend their rich hands to help, they take many of the qualified physicians, nurses, and doctors from these countries, making their donations an act of dropping a healthy seed on a rocky surface. Therefore, some of the funds they direct to these countries can be used to train medical personnel from their homelands and pay them well to ensure the developing countries retain their professionals as well.

Reference

Laurie G. (2007). The challenge of global health. Foreign affairs. 86(1). Pp. 14-38. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezp.twu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=23521751&site=ehost-live