Financing global health: mission unaccomplished

Health

Schieber, et al. (2007) comment on the disproportionate access to health care among the world's poor population. Citing statistics about the prevalence of disease in developing and Third World nations, the authors note that less than two percent of global health care spending is devoted to helping those most in need. Solving the problem will require a long-term commitment to alleviating the financial burdens already placed on poor countries, and on shifting focus toward a more caring and ethical system.

One of the primary motivators to develop a more caring point-of-view is pure economics. The health care problems posed by the world's poor becomes a great burden to local, national, regional, and global economics. Improving health care would therefore create a more viable global economy, boosting local markets and improving prospects for new market development. Schieber et al. (2007), in their article "Financing Global Health: Mission Unaccomplished," outline several possible reform scenarios that can be put into place immediately, if they are supported by a substantial number of First World nations. Debt relief and other means to alleviate financial burdens is but one method of helping the humanitarian crises and epidemics worldwide.