Introduction
Healthcare acquisition is a difficult prospect for people living in less-developed economies. These countries are ravaged by issues such as civil conflict and poor governance, limiting their access to basic healthcare. Our NGO seeks to develop a solution for Guinea-Bissau, a country in West Africa that faces numerous healthcare problems. The following report demonstrates the problems facing this country and the various ways the NGO aims at dealing with these issues. It further illustrates the hindrances to its provision of better healthcare to Guinea-Bissau residents in terms of funding, positing various solutions that would help mitigate them to boost medical care in the African country.
Hindrances to Healthcare Provision
Poor Governance
The first issue posited in the country involves poor governance that makes it difficult for citizens to acquire proper medical care. It is prudent to note the importance of a good leadership design to mitigate diseases within a jurisdiction. The NGO requires resources to address the prevailing conditions in the chosen country. Poor governance plays a major role in preventing citizens from accessing high-quality healthcare. While the government may have resources to aid its people, they are diverted to other sectors of the economy that the funds are not meant to cater to. Failure to focus on people’s healthcare has led the government to understaff hospitals and medical learning institutions. The area’s medical staff is stressed due to high demand and inadequate professionals. However, as the government does not consider healthcare provision a priority, it is unlikely that residents will have better medical services.
Political Instability
It is important to consider that healthcare provision is directly related to the political stability of a country. The lack of stable governance limits the capacity of Guinea-Bissau to provide its citizens with good healthcare. The country has experienced significant political instability in the past, where it is tied with Somalia in terms of successful or planned coups recorded based on World Bank statistics. In this way, Guinea-Bissau posits fragmented elites, weak institutions, and high rent for property following its independence from Portugal in 1974 (Galjour et al., 2021). The country further experienced a civil war in 1998 and 1999 evidenced by political and social divisions within the society. These challenges are present in contemporary Guinea-Bissau as evidenced by the 2019 presidential elections dispute. This turbulence is negative for healthcare development as the country does not have a stable government that could monitor medical institutions’ growth.
Guinea-Bissau’s main healthcare issue, HIV/AIDS, is more prevalent in the country than in its neighboring countries, Senegal, Guinea, and the Gambia. This value stood at 6.7% in 2016, positing one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS prevalence in the world (Galjour et al., 2021). The country cannot adequately mobilize the acquisition of Antiretroviral therapy (ARV) medication, a factor that is partially responsible for its high HIV/tuberculosis co-infection. Political instability is most profoundly experienced in the country’s capacity to provide social services such as those in the health sector.
Limited Education
The organization further has to consider that citizen education related to healthcare issues is limited in the African country. This is a major problem for the development of better medical systems in Guinea-Bissau as people are less inclined to seek good medical services. Lack of education concerning various diseases leads to a population that does not consider its right to access high-quality care. They have limitations concerning the questions they may ask physicians and other healthcare personnel. Guinea-Bissau’s main problem involves HIV/AIDS, a factor that affects the government’s capacity to offer ARVs to its citizens. These issues are further compounded by a high prevalence of the illness, leading to a large section of its population being incapable of understanding and dealing with a rising disease rate. It is prudent to consider that Guinea-Bissau has experienced many coups that limit its ability to organize community education programs. In this way, the organization is likely to consider education as a major component of its strategy to provide better healthcare to Guinea-Bissau citizens.
Influence on Objectives
Legal and regulatory systems shape and define financial management in the healthcare organization’s capacity to operate in a foreign environment. It has to adhere to Guinea-Bissau and US laws related to the provision of funds by an entity from donors. The organization must ensure its connection with the country’s HIV/AIDS management funds is accurately represented to its donors. It should use historical costs to gauge its revenues and capacity to develop a holistic healthcare model in Guinea-Bissau. It is further relevant to be prudent when making assumptions to prevent the NGO from incurring unexpected costs related to integrating better healthcare models and equipment in a foreign country.
The report illustrates an optimal strategy, using a subsidized medication, to merge holistic healthcare with conventional treatment in Guinea-Bissau. Our organization aims to develop a strategy that has a going concern, eliciting benefits for the target population in the long term. It illustrates the effectiveness of developing a long-term system with few resource requirements to ensure it survives for longer in the region. Financial planning is critical to the NGO’s product and service provision design. It enables the entity to gauge the efficacy of each part and determine crucial steps to achieve its goal in Guinea-Bissau. This plan is vital to regulate monetary provisions by ensuring foreign individuals have access to quality care. Healthcare financial statements help allocate this situation while enabling effective capital budgeting. Using subsidized medication in Guinea-Bissau helps the NGO acquire large amounts of medication, lowering its expenditure for the African country.
Impact on the American Population
Economic
The main economic issue related to the provision of healthcare equipment to Guinea-Bissau involves monetary losses to United States citizens. The organization cannot use non-USDA-approved products as they may have adverse side effects on the Guinea-Bissau population. However, it has to consider that subsidized medication in the country limits US citizens’ access to cheap healthcare alternatives. In this way, providing cheap medicine to African residents reduces these services in the company’s home country.
It is important to note the NGO faces significant problems acquiring funds that would cater to a rising HIV/AIDS prevalence in Guinea-Bissau. The organization generates most of its revenues from medical provisions in other countries whose residents do not have issues accessing healthcare. It aims to liaise with the African country’s government to develop a system where it deals with the management of HIV/AIDS. The company would have access to more funding from the government while gaining legitimacy to seek additional revenues from its donors that would help eliminate the funding problem.
Political
Government Perception
Providing healthcare services to Guinea-Bissau has positive and adverse political ramifications for American citizens. The first issue related to the country’s political scene involves the public’s perception of the government. There is widespread division in government-funded schemes such as Medicare and Medicaid. These variations are evident in how the public sees their government and NGOs. Offering funds to Guinea-Bissau to restore its healthcare sector is likely to result in hostility from nationalists and praise from liberals. The former group discerns that foreign governments raise taxpayer revenues to cater to foreigners, a factor they do not consider positive in leadership. In contrast, liberals perceive that the US government is responsible for helping less-developed economies, an issue that would lead them to praise its actions in offering revenues to NGOs that aid in this endeavor.
Moral
Caring for Less Fortunate People
Furthermore, it is crucial to note that health medication diversion to Guinea-Bissau has a positive moral impact on US citizens. It is important to discern that medical personnel and equipment are in short supply globally. However, individuals in the US have access to government-sponsored alternatives such as Medicaid that are not available in less-developed countries such as Guinea-Bissau. This elicits the moral superiority of US citizens that would otherwise benefit from the diverted revenues to Africa. One should note that the US is a major medication manufacturer, a factor that helps its NGOs access better equipment than its African counterpart. These residents are morally correct in helping others gain similar access to medication and high-end personnel.
Health
The provision of free healthcare options to Guinea-Bissau residents has a negative influence on US citizens. It is important to consider that resources spent in Guinea-Bissau would detract from US residents. The African country has an HIV/AIDS issue while the US has other problems such as obesity. In this way, the positive influence of diverting health medication to Africa is limited due to the varying nature of illnesses perceived as frequent in these continents. While HIV/AIDS research is helpful, the illness does not affect a large population in the US. Furthermore, as the country has other problems, diverting resources limits medical personnel’s capacity to deal with local medical issues.
Financial Healthcare Model
It is prudent to note the efficacy of using an equity-based financing method to elicit greater funds for the company. Developing equity-based financing treatment designs and utilizing taxpayer money helps connect people to existing healthcare systems (Cleverley & Cleverley, 2018). They help reduce overall expenses by offsetting some of the costs incurred when offering cheap and free healthcare options to Guinea-Bissau citizens. The company could monetize the creation of medication and treatment designs, helping it gain revenues that would help in Guinea-Bissau. It is essential to note the organization would have a better brand image if it helped poor individuals in the African country. This development further illustrates the necessity for a broad finance base that would mitigate possible losses for the NGO.
Legal Healthcare Model
Furthermore, the organization should consider the legal implication of assisting Guinea-Bissau with medical supplies and personnel. This situation requires in-depth knowledge of healthcare systems in the African country to avoid any legal issues that limit its application. Guinea-Bissau is a democratic country, allowing the NGO’s plan to work efficiently. The company is limited only by its capacity to reach a large population, where it should adhere to local laws and regulations governing healthcare assistance. Finally, it is important to consider whether such actions have adverse effects on the US economy as the NGO is headquartered in the North American continent.
Alternative Healthcare Model
Finally, it is essential to discern the relevance of holistic healthcare provision in Guinea-Bissau. This form of care would use little resources while positing great health benefits for the country. It would reduce the monetary expenses incurred by the NGO, allowing it to increase the number of people it assists in the country. Holistic healthcare further enables the NGO to take advantage of more treatment options that are optimal in less-developed countries with limited medication creation facilities.
Conclusion
Conclusively, Guinea-Bissau requires healthcare assistance from the company to reduce its medication expenses. The country has one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates. It is prudent to seek help from NGOs that focus on poverty-stricken areas to provide healthcare in these regions. The organization is a major contributor to global medical provisions and should play a part in reducing Guinea-Bissau’s reliance on other countries to boost its healthcare sector.
References
Cleverley, W. O., & Cleverley, J. O. (2018). Essentials of Health Care Finance (8th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Galjour, J., Havik, P. J., Aaby, P., Rodrigues, A., Hoemeke, L., Deml, M. J., Zhao, J., & Mpinga, E. K. (2021). Chronic political instability and HIV/AIDS response in Guinea-Bissau: A qualitative study.Infectious Diseases of Poverty, 10(1).