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Copytyped from May 2008 issue of "UN Special" staff magazine, issue No. 673
Priorities
Health for all is an achievable dream. It could be so simple. We all seek it, we all want it, we are all determined to reach it, to touch it, to feel it - poor countries, rich countries, developing countries, developed countries. Health for all - how wonderful and how very possible. Hospitals with equipment that works; bottles of oxygen that are full; a pharmacy stocked with the most essential medicines; local dispensaries which offer basic health services, and, close to home; facilities where deliveries guarantee healthy babies; quality care for the elderly and the most vulnerable, and competitive salaries to keep health providers where they are. Politicians, ministers of health, academics, philanthropists, pharmas (big and small), health professionals all agree it's a priority - universal health access for all. But then - wars, greed, self-interests and other priorities take charge. It could be so easy.
How hard can it be? We have quick access to guns and other killing machines. We can reach the Moon, spend billions sending ashes into space to be buried on Mars... and yet, we still have not been able to control and conquer preventable killer diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, AIDS. Some countries suffer from increasing levels of lifestyle - related diseases linked with obesity or tobacco consumption - all preventable.
The money is there... and that is the saddest part of all. Potential health workers are there: Pay their studies, pay them a decent salary, respect them. Why is it that mortality of children under five is still at unacceptable levels while thousands die from vaccine preventable diseases? Why is it that a child can die from hunger... hunger? The homeless from the cold? When billions are spent on cat and dog food, on cosmetics, on diet pills, liposuction, Botox? How can that be? Why is it that some heads of state ride around in a Rolls Royce or similar show of ostentatiousness while children are walking barefoot through open sewers? Why do women have to walk five to ten kilometres a day just to have water - the same water which may end up killing them and their children?
The following pages are a testimony to people who have a dream to make health accessible to all. And dreams when they are collective, can come true.
Deputy Editor-in-Chief
Maria Dweggah
Priorities
Health for all is an achievable dream. It could be so simple. We all seek it, we all want it, we are all determined to reach it, to touch it, to feel it - poor countries, rich countries, developing countries, developed countries. Health for all - how wonderful and how very possible. Hospitals with equipment that works; bottles of oxygen that are full; a pharmacy stocked with the most essential medicines; local dispensaries which offer basic health services, and, close to home; facilities where deliveries guarantee healthy babies; quality care for the elderly and the most vulnerable, and competitive salaries to keep health providers where they are. Politicians, ministers of health, academics, philanthropists, pharmas (big and small), health professionals all agree it's a priority - universal health access for all. But then - wars, greed, self-interests and other priorities take charge. It could be so easy.
How hard can it be? We have quick access to guns and other killing machines. We can reach the Moon, spend billions sending ashes into space to be buried on Mars... and yet, we still have not been able to control and conquer preventable killer diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, AIDS. Some countries suffer from increasing levels of lifestyle - related diseases linked with obesity or tobacco consumption - all preventable.
The money is there... and that is the saddest part of all. Potential health workers are there: Pay their studies, pay them a decent salary, respect them. Why is it that mortality of children under five is still at unacceptable levels while thousands die from vaccine preventable diseases? Why is it that a child can die from hunger... hunger? The homeless from the cold? When billions are spent on cat and dog food, on cosmetics, on diet pills, liposuction, Botox? How can that be? Why is it that some heads of state ride around in a Rolls Royce or similar show of ostentatiousness while children are walking barefoot through open sewers? Why do women have to walk five to ten kilometres a day just to have water - the same water which may end up killing them and their children?
The following pages are a testimony to people who have a dream to make health accessible to all. And dreams when they are collective, can come true.
Deputy Editor-in-Chief
Maria Dweggah