UNIVERSAL HEALTH COVERAGE:
A Scoping Report: Burundi
Introduction:
Universal Health Coverage (UHC) endeavours to ensure that everyone obtains the health care that they need, but that it is affordable to everyone. Simultaneously, the health care received by citizens must be of a good quality, according the WHO.
Universal Health Coverage is divided by the World Health Organisation into two components: Health Service Coverage and Financial Risk Protection, of which there are numerous indicators used to measure the programme’s progress. Of these many indicators, I have analysed and selected a few which I believe are relevant for the chosen country, Burundi. Burundi is classed as a low income country by the World Bank (less than $1035) and its struggles with former healthcare schemes and civil wars make it an interesting country to review.
The indicators I have chosen to use are bullet pointed in the ‘Data Review’ section, combined with a critical appraisal.
Data Review:
• Under-five mortality rate, per 1000 live births
As shown in the population pyramid (figure 1) below, Burundi’s population is extremely young, the most dominant age category being 0-4 years, with approximately 960,000 people. Consequently, it is appropriate to measure the progress of Universal Health Coverage via the under-five mortality rate. Considering that such a large proportion of the population is young, the aforementioned indicator is a relevant determinant of UHC. This is imperative as the productivity of human capital is dependent on health.
In addition, U5MR does not account for the number of stunted or otherwise unhealthy live children. Consequently, the decrease in U5MR could be considered a misleadingly huge achievement, if a signi...
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...s that much of its data is obtained from the statistical systems of member countries and that the quality of their data is dependent on “how well these national systems perform”.
• Country specific barriers
Burundi is “one of the world’s poorest nations”, according to the BBC (2014). The country’s poor economic growth combined with their twelve-year civil war and lack of cultural progress are significant country-specific barriers in the implementation of UHC. For example, we can look back to 1984, when the La Carte d’Assurance Maladie was implemented. This scheme allowed women to obtain healthcare without consulting their male counterparts by “eliminating cash payments at the point of use”. (UHC Forward, n.d.) However, the scheme was not successful due to low participation rates and the fact that high-risk households tended to be the sole utilisers of the scheme.
In conclusion, the ultimate significance to this type of work is to improve the quality of healthcare in these extremely impoverished nations. This argument is represented in Tracy Kidder’s Mountains Beyond Mountains, Monte Leach’s “Ensuring Health Care as a Global Human Right”, and Darshark Sanghavi’s “Is it Cost Effective to Treat the World’s Poor.” The idea that universal healthcare is a human right is argued against in Michael F. Cannon’s “A “Right” to health care?” Cannon claims that it would not work, and fills the holes that the other authors leave in their arguments. All of these articles share the same ultimate goal, and that is to provide every individual with adequate health care, and to not let so many people die from things that could easily have been prevented or treated.
The health care system in Canada today is a combination of sources which depends on the services and the person being treated. 97% of Canadians are covered by Medicare which covers hospital and physician services. Medicare is funded at a governmental and provincial level. People of First Nation and Inuit descent are covered by the federal government. Members of the armed forces, veterans, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are also covered by the federal government. Several services such as dental care, residential care, and pharmaceutical are not covered. The 13 provinces have different approaches to health care; therefore, it is often said that Canada has 13 healthcare systems (Johnson & Stoskopf, 2010). The access to advanced medical technology and treatment, the cost of healthcare, and the overall health of Canadians fares well in comparison with other countries such as the United States.
Malawi is one of the world’s poorest countries, ranking 160th out of 182 countries on the Human Development Index. Malawi has extremely low life expectancy and high infant mortality which couldn’t be controlled yet. It’s one of least developed nations in the world; however, some of improvements have
Universal health care refers to any system of health care managed by the government. The health care system may cover different programs including government run hospitals and health organizations and programs targeted at providing health care. Many developed countries such as Canada and United Kingdom have embraced universal health care with the United States being the only exception. The present U.S health care system has often been considered inefficient in terms of cost control as millions of Americans remain uncovered. This has made it the subject of a heated debate characterized by people who argue that the country requires a kind of socialized system that will permit increased government participation. Others have tended to support privatized health care, or a combined model of private and universal health care that will permit private companies to offer health care for a specific fee. Universal healthcare has numerous advantages that remain hidden from society. First, the federal government can apply economies of scale in managing health facilities which would reduce health care expenses. Second, all unnecessary expenses would be eliminated by requiring all states to bring together all the insurance companies into a single entity whose mandate would be to provide health insurance to all people. Lastly, increased government participation will guarantee quality care, improve access to medical services and address critical problems relating to market failure.
“Homelessness can be the cause as well as the result of poor health” (Wise, Emily, Debrody, Corey &ump; Paniucki, Heather, 1999, p.445). This is a reoccurring theme that has existed within the homeless population for decades. While programs to help reduce this constant circle are being put in place all over the country to provide medical services for the homeless to be able to go to, many are still finding that health care needs for individuals as well as homeless communities are not being met. Many studies have been completed that study both the opinion on healthcare by those who have access to sufficient health care and homeless people’s perceptions on health care administration. While many companies are working to provide more personal health care systems, it appears that the larger problem is with a lack of people know about the health care systems that are in place to help them. Companies are trying to advertise more often to inform homeless people that there is health care out there for them.
In recent years, the number of Americans who are uninsured has reached over 45 million citizens, with millions more who only have the very basic of insurance, effectively under insured. With the growing budget cuts to medicaid and the decreasing amount of employers cutting back on their health insurance options, more and more americans are put into positions with poor health care or no access to it at all. At the heart of the issue stems two roots, one concerning the morality of universal health care and the other concerning the economic effects. Many believe that health care reform at a national level is impossible or impractical, and so for too long now our citizens have stood by as our flawed health-care system has transformed into an unfixable mess. The good that universal healthcare would bring to our nation far outweighs the bad, however, so, sooner rather than later, it is important for us to strive towards a society where all people have access to healthcare.
Murray, C.J.L. & Frenk, J. (2010). Ranking 37th – Measuring the performance of the U.S.
A universal healthcare system is a great idea in theory, but in actuality, no one has figured out a reasonable proposal for where the money should come from. Economists claim that more than 2 trillion dollars are spent on health care each year. That’s over $6,000 per person. It would be reasonable to assume that universal health care would cause the already grand cost of health care in the United States to increase even more. The most likely outcome is that taxpayers would have to pay into a large pool from which everyone would draw for their health needs. This would create several problems. First, it would raise taxes for everyone. It would also mean, fundamentally, that many people who choose a healthy lifestyle would be required to pay the same amount as people who choose to live an unhealthy lifestyle, which hardly seems fair. Finally, a universal healthcare system could lead to huge increases in unemployment. All of the Americans who are currently employed with private insurance companies could suddenly find themselves without work. Government regulation could lead to decreased salaries for doctors. This hardly seems like a more
One of the most commonly debated topics in recent American history has been that of health care. Would Americans be able to reap more benefits if individuals continue to be independent in their pursuits of health care, or would it be beneficial for all if the government introduced more regulations regarding health care, changing our system to resemble those of other developed countries? As more solutions are offered, it becomes harder for people to reach a consensus on the best way to approach this issue. Despite this, America must decide what system of healthcare will benefit the most citizens and improve the quality of life the most. It is becoming increasingly apparent that a universal healthcare system would be the most effective and
High quality and less expensive healthcare can be achieved with a universal healthcare model. In fact, the United States is the...
The constitution of the World Health Organization states that “The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition” (Koh and Nowinski 2010 pp 949). One would hope that this sentiment would also include the low income women of our society, however it has become a harsh reality amongst poverty stricken women that fair and affordable health care is difficult to provide for themselves and for their families. Women with an income below the federal poverty level are at a higher risk of being uninsured or under insured than the general population (Legerski, 2012). The inability to acquire adequate health insurance both privately offered and state funded, in particular can be a serious barrier to low income women's ability to seek health care (Magge, 2013). Furthermore poverty can cause some women to engage in dangerous “street involvement” causing health care providers to act with unjust prejudice in regard to their health care (Bungay, 2013). This paper will attempt to further address and justify these broad statements regarding low income women and their relationship to health care. It makes the argument that if we must see the highest attainable standard of health care as a fundamental human right than by not safeguarding our society’s impoverished women from these trials and tribulations are we not, as a country making a concession that low income women are less worthy or these rights?
Universal Healthcare by definition means healthcare for all. That would also mean that an insured persons rates would not be increased to cover the uninsured. Universal Healthcare is moral and just obligation. By promoting the health of our citizens we then promote our infrastructure as well.
Universal health care is medical insurance provided to all the residents of a country by their government. Out of all the major industrial countries, The United States is the only country without a universal health care system. In 2010, President Barack Obama signed a health care reform law making it illegal to be uninsured in America, which is a major step towards it. Universal Health Care should be mandatory in America because it gives everyone an opportunity to receive more equal care, the overall health of the population would increase and current insurance plans are unaffordable for many Americans.
In the article ” Universal Health Coverage: Solution or Siren? Some Preliminary Thoughts”, Dr. Temkin argues against the idea from Maraget Chan that “universal health coverage (UHC) is the single most powerful concept that public health has to offer” by claiming his concerns about the possible detrimental consequences of the push for universal health coverage in the developing world.
A theoretical basis does also exist for the reverse causation, from health expenditure to income and economic growth. The role of health care spending, as an investment, on stimulating economic growth has been suggested by Mushkin. According to him, health is considered as capital. Therefore, investment on health can increase income and hence lead to overall economic growth. (Mushkin, 1962). This is especially seen on low income or developing countries. The World Health Organization’s Commission on Macroeconomics and Health report of the year 2001, states that “extending the coverage of crucial health services to the world’s poor could save millions of lives each year, reduce poverty, spur economic development and promote global security” (World Health Organization, 2001).