Sustainable Global Health Systems: Our Collective Responsibility

The root causes of health inequities are complex, arising from the interaction of various political, economic, and social factors. The usual suspects are infrastructure issues, lack of education/awareness, conflicts/wars, poverty, and limited access to adequate healthcare. One possible solution is responsible governance, which requires data monitoring and trend analysis to allocate resources efficiently. Another approach most discussed to bridge the health inequality gap is that of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). UHC will allow all people access to the medical services they need, when and where they need them, without financial hardship or catastrophic health spending. Many countries at varying stages of economic development have shown that it is possible to make substantial progress towards UHC. Nevertheless, the world still has a long way to go. The WHO estimates that half of the world’s population cannot access the healthcare they need. Over 930 million people spend at least 10% of their household income on healthcare, and 100 million people are driven into poverty each year. Fortunately, these numbers can be lowered through improved accessibility and availability of medicines and other healthcare resources. A 2010 report from WHO estimates that 20% to 40% of all health spending is wasted through inefficiency and points to 10 specific areas where better policies and practices could increase the impact of expenditures, sometimes dramatically. Spending on medicines is one area where efficiencies can be gained, and wastage can be reduced. Various organizations are creating practical tools to measure the global use of medicines. Investing resources more wisely can help countries move closer to universal coverage without increasing spending.