The documentary “Preventable Health Issues in Third World Countries” by Thomas (2012) outlines preventable diseases affecting many people in Third World. It also lists the drivers of this problem and suggests a possible solution. According to the documentary, people in Third World suffer from maternal death, HIV/AIDS, diarrhea, measles, polio, yellow fever, leprosy, malnutrition, tuberculosis, and malaria, all of which can be prevented thanks to modern medical advances. About 17 million people die from preventable diseases annually, with 8 million of them being children aged five and younger. The documentary also reveals the poor conditions of the healthcare systems in the Third World, where people have to ride a horse or walk on foot to reach the doctor. Finally, it tackles the issue of harmful religious practices, such as female circumcision, which often result in complications.
All the medical conditions mentioned in the documentary are treatable and avoidable. Yet, Third World countries still have high rates of people suffering or dying from these preventable health issues. The first reason why this problem persists is the many obstacles pharmaceutical companies face when trying to get their drugs approved for use in these countries. Second, Third World lacks qualified medical staff and developed transportation infrastructure. Further, one cannot just ban harmful religious practices because there is a need to respect other people’s beliefs. Finally, there is a lack of services and finances for helping Third World countries because nations having the necessary resources also struggle with healthcare issues, so they allocate money to their own healthcare systems.
In the end, the documentary argues that if every person donated only $20, it would be enough to vaccinate people in Third World countries against preventable illnesses. Thus, the documentary’s main point is that joint efforts of the whole global community are necessary to reduce the mortality rate from preventable diseases. One question that can be raised regarding this point is as follows: since all joint efforts require organizers and coordinators to guide these endeavors in the right direction, who will assume this role to unite the world in an effort to help Third World cope with preventable diseases? Furthermore, developed countries also struggle with health issues, so how many of their resources should they allocate to Third World to be able to maintain their own healthcare systems? Finally, there are powerful people and organizations possessing a great portion of the available resources. Their understanding of the problem of the Third World is necessary because they can make valuable contributions to addressing health issues in these countries.
Reference
Thomas, S. (2012). Preventable health issues in third world countries. YouTube. Web.