Healthcare in Developing Nations – What They Truly Need.

In Editorial by Edmund KwokLeave a Comment

Guest post by Barbara Watson.

Health. It’s something that we should take seriously. As I see it, a good health is a foundation of a great nation. A country with unhealthy people won’t be able to produce well. If this is the case, one will always be a striving nation but will not experience improvement. That’s why we need to improve the health care status of developing nations.

I have chosen 5 developing nations as brief examples for this article: Afghanistan, Cambodia, India, Philippines and Zimbabwe. Let’s review some of their more notorious individual health care concerns and let’s try to figure out what they need.

Afghanistan. Aside from the usual diseases found in developing nations, many people from Afghanistan suffer from psychological trauma. There are a lot of cases where human rights are being abused. Mental health is a very serious topic, and many are without appropriate professional resources to address major depression caused by traumatic experiences. The true effect of the subsequent fallout (including suicides and homicides) remains unknown.

Cambodia. Cambodia is known to have one of the highest HIV rates in Asia according to shades4aids.com. No wonder that one of the leading causes of death in the country is tuberculosis. Alongside with those, there are numerous reports about the medical malpractices in Cambodia. In fact, one reported that he was given a medication for epilepsy where in fact he was just experiencing nausea. Check campropost.org to know the whole story.

India. There is a high infant mortality rate in India. It’s a sad thought that these babies won’t be able to witness the beauty of life. As for their mothers, a lot of them are experiencing postpartum maternal morbidity. Apart from those, stroke and breast cancer are being rampant in India nowadays.

Philippines. Philippines is also experiencing the health concerns from the aforementioned nations. In addition to that, there is an increase in the number of people who use illegal drugs. And the users are mostly from the poor families. It is also a struggle to fight Dengue in the Philippines.

Zimbabwe. Giving birth in Zimbabwe can be a nightmare for mothers. They say that if your baby survived in the hospital, that’s a miracle. Most of their health care facilities are bad. Most of their dialysis machines are faulty. In fact, incubators are not working properly. Can you imagine, even their supply of soap is very limited. Aside from that, there are a lot of reports about violence and rape.

Yes, it’s that bad!

What I think they need:

Good and Sincere Volunteers. There might be a lot of volunteers but I believe not all are sincere. It should be someone who takes health seriously. This is a person that’s not after the money or the budget. It’s a person of service. If one is sincere, his passion to impart knowledge on health care will be transmitted smoothly to the people of these developing nations.

Properly Allocated Budget. Different nations have different health care needs. It is not enough that we provide them with budget. It should be something that is according to their needs. One country might need extra hospital beds, another might need more vitamins. It is important that a comprehensive report should be submitted so that there will be no over and under budget.

To be Educated. People from developing countries are used to being helped by other folks. The question is, do they know the reason why they are being helped? Give them what’s really happening to their country in terms of health care. But make sure that you will not offend them. Remember, once they got hurt, it would be harder for you to lend a helping hand.

To be Monitored. It is very important that you monitor the people you taught about the health care in their area. Encourage them to impart that same knowledge to their locals. Locals will be more interested to learn knowing that their ‘mentor’ is one of their own.

Health care, as I have said, is a serious matter. It’s not easy to improve a nation’s health care status. But we have to start from something, and we have to start now. Let us improve a country’s productivity by improving the health of its future producers.

Author Bio: Barbara Watson is an advocate of great health. She’s trying to help other people by telling practical tips on how one can improve their health. Apart from that, Barbara shares tips on how to find an online pharmacy to those who are not capable of leaving their homes.

Edmund Kwok

Edmund Kwok

Emergency Medicine. Quality Improvement. Patient Safety. Change Management. Healthcare Administration.

Frontdoor 2 Healthcare

Frontdoor2Healthcare, founded by Dr. Edmund Kwok in 2012, provides editorial and commentary on issues affecting Canadian healthcare from the emergency department’s “front door” perspective. Frontdoor posts allow for open sharing of the diverse opinions and perspectives of emergency physicians from across the country.

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