For this week, I explored various approaches to health systems on the global agenda, including Universal Healthcare Coverage (UHC). The main problem the UHC is trying to address is the lack of quality health care and the lack of finances to cover clinical services (WHO, 2017). Communities from economically poor regions, for whom financial security is a key issue for survival, have a particular need for such programs. In reviewing this week’s materials, what was most shocking to me was the fact that every year about 100 million people around the world find themselves in extreme poverty because of the need to give much money for clinical care (WHO, 2017). One hundred million people are almost a third of the U.S. population, which is the equivalent of one in three Americans being poor. Furthermore, I believe that taking care of one’s health should be available to absolutely everyone, without exception, because it is an immutable need of individuals; accordingly, the fact about the proportion of people who cannot afford it financially can be frustrating. For this reason, the UHC initiative strikes me as a reasonable solution to help vulnerable communities. The UHC provides programs and activities to bring the capabilities of modern medicine to communities in poor countries, along with the training of specialists and assistance to those in need. For this reason, on a global level, it seems to me that UHC will create an environment in which communities have more treatment options, and thus overall clinical literacy and health levels are expected to increase.
It should not be excluded that more people will want to join the connected professions because of the spread of a culture of health care, which will reflect on the flourishing of the medical sciences. The same conclusions hold true for the United States, part of whose population also lacks the financial means to cover health plans. In other words, the benefits of implementing UHC initiatives seem substantial, which will favorably impact global health. Nevertheless, it is not unlikely that UHC will face problems of corruption in local communities and non-recognition of foreign influence, which may be relevant to residents of countries unfriendly to the United States. In the U.S., personal and political animosity of communities toward UHC or WHO, as well as potentially criminal activities of decision-makers, are the main problems UHC may face.
Reference
WHO. (2017). WHO: Universal health coverage — the best investment for a safer, fairer, and healthier world [Video]. YouTube. Web.