Health For All

“Health is a basic human right. Everyone should be able to access quality health services whenever & wherever they need them.” - United Nations. Regardless of our socio-economic background we all want and yearn for affordable healthcare. In some developed countries healthcare services are free and indeed viewed as a human right. In such societies the citizenry have ready access to world class healthcare systems. However, in more developing countries one has to pay to access public healthcare and this is problematic and comes with a myriad of problems. Indeed some of the problems include long wait time for appointment dates for specialized healthcare services such as surgeries. Recently, Jamaica’s Ministry of Health and Wellness made a public appeal to locate persons who have been waiting for elective surgeries for over a year for hernia, prostate, fibroids or other womb-related operations. The Health Ministry said that such persons should make contact with them by May 31st. The fact is not everyone can afford private healthcare and those who are not so fortunate have no choice but to wait on the slow turning wheels of the public health care system. World Health Day observed on April 7 is a global health awareness day under the auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO). The day is set aside to draw attention to a specific health topic of concern to people all over the world. The theme this year is Health For All. The date of 7 April marks the anniversary of the founding of the WHO in 1948. The observation this year is an important milestone given it has been 75 years since the founding of the WHO. Since the foundation of the World Health Organization in 1948, the world has experienced public health challenges that have required us all to come together with science, solutions and solidarity. In 1948, countries of the world came together and founded WHO to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable so everyone everywhere can attain the highest level of health and well-being.  The WHO 75th anniversary year is an opportunity to look back at public health successes that have improved quality of life during the last seven decades. The WHO adds that it is also an opportunity to motivate action to tackle the health challenges of today and tomorrow. Health Challenges in the Caribbean And Latin America A recent report has revealed that the Caribbean needs to re-calibrate its healthcare priorities by securing more funding and learning how to spend resources better. The report is published by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank and is titled the Health at a Glance: Latin America and the Caribbean 2020, the first publication of the organization that zeroes in on the region. It says that total health expenditure across the Caribbean countries is on average 6.6% of their gross domestic product (GDP). This is lower compared to the 8.8% of other OECD countries. Spending varied from 1.1% in Venezuela to up to 11.7% in Cuba and 9.2% in Uruguay in 2017. The report also shows that health systems in the region heavily rely on out-of-pocket expenditures or supplemental private insurance from households, with an average of 54.3% of total health spending for government spending and compulsory health insurance. Countries that have the highest private spending are Honduras, Haiti and Guatemala. Cuba and Costa Rica have the lowest. Additionally, the Inter-American Development Bank states that Latin American and Caribbean countries will face significant increases in future health expenditures. A variety of factors are responsible - population growth and aging, the epidemiological transition to non-communicable diseases (NCDs), and economic growth and technology, among others. Increasing health expenditures are particularly concerning to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) given growing levels of debt, insufficient fiscal revenues, and high out-of-pocket payments. The projected average annual per capita CHE growth rate from 2018-2050 is slightly higher in Latin American countries (3.2%) than in the Caribbean (2.4%). The share of health expenditure in GDP is projected to increase to 2030 in all LAC countries except for Guyana. Primary Health Care Primary Health Care (PHC) is rooted in a commitment to social justice, equity, solidarity and participation. It is based on the recognition that the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction. For universal health coverage (UHC) to be truly universal, a shift is needed from health systems designed around diseases and institutions towards health systems designed for people, with people. PHC requires governments at all levels to underscore the importance of action beyond the health sector in order to pursue a whole-of government approach to health, including health-in-all-policies, a strong focus on equity and interventions that encompass the entire life-course. PHC addresses the broader determinants of health and focuses on the comprehensive and interrelated aspects of physical, mental and social health and wellbeing. It provides whole-person care for health needs throughout the lifespan, not just for a set of specific diseases. Primary health care ensures people receive quality comprehensive care - ranging from promotion and prevention to treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care - as close as feasible to people’s everyday environment. Sustainable Development Goal The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #3 speaks to the promotion of good health and well-being for all. This goal is critical for sustainable development for all countries. Many persons suffer across this planet due to a lack of universal health coverage or inadequate health insurance. Many of us have to make a decision regarding which medication is most important upon filling our prescriptions. The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted some vulnerable population groups in most if not all societies. Those living in deprived areas, migrants and ethnic minorities oftentimes have limited access to healthcare and are most vulnerable to succumbing to preventable illness. According to the United Nations by April 2022, the Coronavirus causing COVID-19 had infected more than 500 million people and killed more than 6.2 million worldwide. However, the most recent estimates suggest that the global number of excess deaths directly and indirectly attributable to COVID-19 could be as high as three times this figure. The pandemic has severely disrupted essential health services, shortened life expectancy and exacerbated inequities in access to basic health services between countries and people, threatening to undo years of progress in some health areas. Furthermore, immunization coverage dropped for the first time in 10 years and deaths from tuberculosis and malaria increased. Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health Based on data from 2015-2021, 84 per cent of births worldwide were assisted by skilled health professionals, including medical doctors, nurses and midwives, an increase from 77% in 2008-2014. In sub-Saharan Africa, coverage is 20 percentage points lower. Available data do not reflect the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the disruption of services, which may reverse gains made over the past decades. The global under-5 mortality rate fell by 14 per cent, from 43 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2015 to 37 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2020, while the global neonatal mortality rate fell to 17 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2020 from 19 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2015, a 12 per cent reduction. Even with that progress, 5 million children died before reaching their fifth birthday in 2020 alone, down from 5.9 million in 2015. Almost half of those deaths, 2.4 million, occurred in the first month of life. Infectious diseases An estimated 1.5 million new HIV infections and 680,000 deaths from AIDS-related causes occurred in 2020. The incidence of HIV infections globally declined by 39 per cent between 2010 and 2020, far less than the 75 per cent target agreed by the General Assembly in 2016. Measures to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the additional strain the new pandemic has placed on health systems have disrupted HIV-related services. In 2020, an estimated 10 million people fell ill with tuberculosis worldwide. There was a rise in tuberculosis deaths for the first time in a decade, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, from 1.2 million in 2019 to 1.3 million in 2020 (excluding tuberculosis deaths in people with HIV). Tuberculosis incidence is falling at a rate of about 2 per cent per year, which is much slower than the 4–5 per cent annual decline which was required to achieve the 2020 milestones of the End Tuberculosis Strategy. Between 2018 and 2020, tuberculosis treatment reached 20 million people, only half of the global target. There were an estimated 241 million malaria cases and 627,000 malaria deaths worldwide in 2020. This represents about 14 million more cases in 2020 compared with 2019 and 69,000 more deaths. About two thirds of the additional deaths were linked to disruptions in the provision of malaria services during the pandemic. Africa was home to 95 per cent of malaria cases and 96 per cent of malaria deaths. Non-communicable diseases, Mental Health and Environmental Risks Globally, 74 per cent of all deaths in 2019 were caused by non-communicable diseases. The probability of dying from any of the four main non-communicable diseases (cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory disease) between 30 and 70 years of age declined from 19.9 per cent in 2010 to 17.8 per cent in 2019. This rate of decline is insufficient to meet the Sustainable Development Goal target. Tobacco use rates have declined in 150 countries, contributing to the decline of the global average prevalence rate from 24.4 per cent in 2015 to 22.3 per cent in 2020. In 15 countries, tobacco use rates are either steady or still going up. The global suicide death rate declined by 29 per cent from 13.0 deaths per 100,000 population in 2000 to 9.2 deaths per 100,000 in 2019. Although the available data do not show an increase in suicide rates during the first months of the COVID-19 crisis, the pandemic has had a severe impact on the mental health and well-being of people around the world. In 2020, there was a 25 per cent increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide. Good Friday As the Christian community pauses to observe Good Friday we are mindful of the monumental sacrifices made by the Son Of God on Calvary’s Cross for the remission of our sins. Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price for us that we may prosper in good health and be empowered to live lives free from sin. The book of Isaiah 53 verse 5 sums it up best; but He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. On this the occasion of World Health Day we salute all our health care workers. Happy World Health Day. Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. waykam@yahoo.com @WayneCamo © #WorldHealthDay #HealthForAll #WHO75 #GoodFriday #SDG3