By Anis A. Aclimandos

Having lived and worked in both developing and developed countries, I have observed and felt the difference between countries that spend reasonable amounts on healthcare and others where, due to scarce resources and lack of awareness, health is a luxury afforded by a few and a source of hardship for the majority. It is a true vicious circle: good health is conducive to productivity and reasonable wealth, while poor health is a major handicap for many.

When asked “What is the most severe development impediment? “the most common answer you hear is “education, education, and education”, but I strongly believe that reasonable health conditions are certainly as serious, if not more important. Sick children are unable to learn and cost a fortune in treatments, sick grown-ups are handicapped and cannot contribute, while individuals of all ages who are victims of endemic diseases burden their families and the state.

Can human health be served properly without having adequate health insurance systems in place? Are governments expected to provide decent coverage for all, regardless of individual contributions to the system? Is it possible to sustain health insurance schemes on very low incomes? These questions have been debated extensively by countries who can afford to implement the results of their discussions, as well as those who realize their shortcomings and often know the needed solutions but cannot afford them.

I do not want to bore the reader with health statistics that are available on the World Health organization website in detail. Nevertheless, the per capita amount spent in Egypt on healthcare leaves a lot to be desired, the types of diseases that are prevalent are debilitating, and unfortunately, the national health insurance system is not up to the acceptable norms.

A clear distinction should be made between dealing with disease avoidance and disease prevention. What I mean by avoidance is neutralizing to the extent possible the external factors affecting human health, such as environmental factors; air and water pollution being the most obvious, malnutrition; professional hazards; and exposure to hazardous materials.  Prevention includes, but is not restricted to, individual immunization procedure such as vaccination.

Getting into the added logistical problems, given the present circumstances, hospitals refuse to admit patients who do not put down deposits that are either not immediately accessible or simply not affordable. Although I perfectly understand that establishments must secure their revenues, it is absolutely inconceivable that human beings can be denied access to treatment on those grounds! There must be insurance schemes that guarantee initial access regardless of the actual treatment coverage!  As systems that rely solely on law enforcement, regardless of logic, do not work, initiating some initial emergency payment guarantee should be developed, in addition to the promulgation of the necessary legislation.

Foreign exchange scarcity and price have also negatively affected the pharmaceutical industry and drug importation in general, adding to the pain of the needy and the wealthy! Quick fixes have been promised and should be implemented soon, however, creative new constructive ideas are welcome and must be brought forward to protect our most valuable asset “Human Capital.”

© Business Monthly 2017