Healthcare Accessibility: A Global Disparity

Healthcare for All
“If you look at the human condition today, not everyone is well fed, has access to good medical care, or the physical basics that provide for a healthy and a happy life.” This quote by Ralph Merkle shows that something so easily taken for granted is healthcare. Most of us wouldn’t even think about it as a privilege, something that has just always been there and always will. In America, we would never even imagine not being able to receive medical care in our times of need, in other countries that is not at all the case. Many will die from easily preventable and treatable diseases because they do not have medical care. The charity Doctors of the World is committed to helping those who do not have easy access to medical care

Their values are sound and respectable, they are committed to improving access to medical care for those affected by poverty, disease, conflict, natural disasters, and health disparities and they will provide this care with no discrimination. Their principles include affirming access to healthcare as a human right, providing access to medical care, working locally with partners to ensure effectiveness and stability, fighting against discrimination in the healthcare field, and exposing barriers that prevent people from receive quality medical care. Their history is the most important of all the Doctors of the World, originally known as Médecins du Monde or MdM, was founded in Paris, France by fifteen doctors that all believed direct access to medical care was a basic human right and needed to be provided to all the world’s population. Doctors of the World opened its doors in 1980, and first sent doctors to Afghanistan, El Salvador, and Armenia all to improve care for populations that were being affected by crisis and war. Then in 1986, the MdM opened their first medical clinic in France to care for refugees that were refused medical care. In 1987 they then launched the first free, anonymous HIV testing center in part to a harm reduction initiative. By 1989, the first international Doctors of the World branch was founded in Spain starting the International Network. Currently, Doctors of

For starters, Doctors of the World is very efficient with their funds, for every dollar raised, 79 cents go to programs, 6 cents are spent on administration, and 15 cents goes to fundraising. If you would ever be concerned about where your money is going, MdM publishes a detailed financial report annually and is available in multiple languages. Another reason is medical care is so important, if you were to think about your life without quality medical aid, where would you be right now? It is such a privilege that we never need to worry about, if our lives were in danger there will always be a doctor to help us. Even if you do not specifically agree with each cause they support, the overall message is something that everyone can get behind. Medical care is a basic human right and every living human being should have access to it and without this charity and its efforts most cultures would never receive the care they need to