Neglect in Medical Treatment in Neighboring Countries

K.Bard
3 min readMar 11, 2018

--

In the United States, we walk into most medical facilities and are greeted by highly educated physicians and advanced medical technology. In many countries in Africa as well as India, there are underdeveloped areas where civilians are deprived modern medical treatment. American citizens take their medicare for advantage constantly, and never think twice about the continuous struggle in neighboring countries.

Throughout the United States, average Americans do not stress about receiving medical treatment. American citizens know that when they go to the hospital they will be receiving high-quality treatment no matter the circumstances. American hospitals have advanced research and high-level technology, leaving citizens to know they will be receiving the best treatment possible. American hospitals have advanced research and high-level technology, leaving citizens to know they will be receiving the best treatment possible. Our doctors get paid extremely well for the work they perform, and usually, do not have to stress over the cost of their next meal.

Throughout many developing countries, healthcare is not as accessible nor is it safe as American healthcare. In India, there is one nurse for every one thousand patients. In addition, Africa has a quarter of the world disease burden, their patients go days without receiving any medical assistance. In some cases, doctors will only visit the hospitals once every couple of weeks, which leaves patients unattended for very long periods of time. “A nurse taking care of 400 patients is only paid three dollars a day in Malawi.” That is substantially not enough to support a single person, let alone an entire family.

https://www.djc.com/news/ae/12019115.html?action=get&id=12019115&printmode=true

“A lack of skilled personnel has health systems in developing countries quote on the brink of collapse,“ said Ezekiel Nukuro, and Asia advisor for the world health organization.

In these developing countries, diseases spread rapidly due to the uncleanliness of their healthcare facilities. Once it spreads, it’s extremely challenging to control the outbreak because there is a great lack of resources. Trained personnel and staff is extremely limited. The doctors who are available have hundreds of patients to see which limits the speed of their services, and those who are trained travel to different countries to work with more advanced technology.

http://blogs.jpmsonline.com/2013/08/08/challenges-of-healthcare-financing-in-nigeria/

In the United States, civilians look at healthcare as a concept that will always be available to them. Citizens have the capability to walk into an emergency room at any time of day and know that they will receive quality treatment and usually do not have to worry about the cleanliness of the tools and equipment. However, other countries do not have that level of accessibility. In the United States, citizens obliviously take healthcare for granted. Instead of focusing on spending all of the money for U.S. healthcare, doctors should aid to third world countries who do not have the same accessibility as the United States.

--

--