The Afro Central: An Overview Of African Health Care
Africa, the second-largest continent on Earth encompassing nearly 12 million square miles, is a land of stark contrasts. Mount Kilimanjaro and Lake Victoria are among locations offering a spectacular view with thousands traveling to Africa annually to enjoy lions, tigers, zebras and other native animals. On the other hand, the Journal of Public Health in Africa reports that millions of native Africans are plagued by health issues such as AID/HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, diarrhea, heart disease, malnutrition and several lower respiratory disorders. Even with over $50 billion in aid contributed from the United States, Africa continues to face substantial health issues on a daily basis.
According to the World Health Organization, regardless of international efforts and promises by individual governments, millions of mothers, newborns and children continue to die annually in Africa from diseases and conditions that are preventable. Africa has just 11 percent of the world's population, but 60 percent of the world's HIV/AIDS cases and about 90 percent of malaria cases in the world. Most of those affected are under the age of five. The African Regional Health Report looked at health trends among more than 700 million Africans and came to the conclusion that more investment is needed to cut poverty, disease and other related health issues. The report determined that the overall health situation in several African countries has not improved over the past decade with some countries experiencing worsening health conditions.
Regional conflicts and hard to reach locations are two of the main inhabitants to access to proper health care in Africa. The maternal mortality rate in Africa is 43 per 1,000 live births or four times above the rates in the United States and Europe with African nations accounting for 19 of the top 20 countries with the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. Lack of proper maternal care and nutrition during pregnancy are the major contributing factors to such statistics. The creation of health centers in some African nations and an increased availability of anti-retroviral drugs to treat HIV/AIDS patients has been effective in some African countries such as Uganda. The report concluded that diseases such as measles, polio and leprosy have been nearly eradicated in Africa and medications have helped to control diabetes, heart disease and stroke in some areas of Africa.
Education is a main part of efforts to improve health care conditions in Africa. The Organization of African Unity first expressed a need for health-based education efforts in Africa in 1969. The African Regional Health Education Center was established in 1975 to increase educational efforts to let Africans know about health-related treatments available to them. One reason many Africans fail to seek out proper medical care is because of a lack of knowledge about what services are available. Another obstacle is concern over the cost of such services. Many health centers and organizations offer basic health care services free of charge. However, such efforts are not effective if people aren't aware they can obtain free medications or health care. WHO asserts that another issue is fragile health systems in many African nations that cannot simply match the need for care and services. The resulting lack of health care coverage in some areas of Africa creates an enormous barrier to providing a level of care in several areas of the continent.
Insufficient commitment and investment of funds from many African countries is another significant factor to overall health care conditions in Africa. There is inadequate coverage in rural areas of several countries. Hospitals in such areas tend to lack proper equipment and drugs to treat conditions common among the population. In some cases, there is a never-ending cycle. While the governments of many nations cannot afford to provide health care to all citizens, those same nations will not develop economically and socially to the point where they can afford to provide such widespread care without substantial improvements in the health of their people.
Lack of fresh drinking is also a major contributing factor to illnesses prevalent throughout some regions of Africa. According to the United Nations, just 58 percent of people living in sub-Saharan areas of Africa have regular access to safe drinking water. WHO reports that there have been some improvements with regards to illnesses related to poor drinking water. River blindness has been virtually eliminated in 33 of 42 countries where malaria is still prevalent. According to the CIA World Factbook, a person born in the world today has an average life expectancy of 67.2 years. In some parts of Africa, life expectancy is 55 years of age or less due to widespread conditions such as AIDS. Humanitarian efforts do help, but African governments need to make a commitment to invest more funds for substantial improvements to health care conditions.