Health and Human Security with Focus on India and Canada

By

Dr. R. Kumar, Eye specialist and consultant healthcare and health tourism

 A WHO background document, released in Singapore on April 2, 2007, profiled the following issues linked to international health security:

• Emerging diseases: new, highly contagious diseases, such as SARS and avian influenza, AIDS, H1N1 know no borders. Their potential to cause international harm means that outbreaks cannot be treated as purely national issues.
• Economic stability: public heath dangers have economic as well as health consequences. Containing international threats is good for economic well-being. With fewer than 10,000 cases, SARS cost Asian countries US $ 60 billion in the second quarter of 2003 alone.
• International crises and humanitarian emergencies: these events kill and maim individuals and severely stress the health systems that people rely on for personal health security. In 2006, 134.6 million people were affected and 21 342 were killed by natural disasters.
• Chemical, radioactive and biological terror threats: whether deliberate or accidental, WHO's global networks are well placed to respond to the health effects of these threats using the same techniques employed in other disasters - rapid assessment and response, triage and treatment, securing water, food and sanitation systems.
• Environmental change: environmental and climate changes have a growing impact on health, but health policies alone cannot prevent their effects. People are dying- upwards of 60 000 in recent years in climate-related natural disasters, mainly in developing countries.
• HIV/AIDS - a key health and security issue: the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS, demonstrated to international security specialists the potential impact of a public health issue on security. In 2006, an estimated 39.5 million people were living with HIV/AIDS.
• Strengthening health systems: functioning health systems are the bedrock of health security, but the current state of systems worldwide is inadequate. As an example, the world is currently short of more than four million health workers, with the impact most felt in developing countries.

Let us now focus on the healthcare systems of Canada and India with relations to health security.

Canadian health care system

Canada has a publicly-funded health care system, which is mostly free at the point of use and has most services provided by private entities. There is no need for the patient to be involved in billing and reclaim, thus making the system more simple than one in which patients are billed and then reimbursed. In general, costs are paid through funding from income taxes (three provinces impose a fixed monthly premium e.g.,$54/month in British Columbia). A health card, also called a Care Card, is issued by the Ministry of Health to each individual who enrolls for the program and everyone is expected to receive the same level of care. General practitioners (GPs) are chosen by individuals. If a patient wishes to see a specialist, a referral can be made by a GP. 86.2% of Canadians surveyed supported "public solutions to make public health care stronger”. 70% of Canadians rated their system as working "very well". Health care spending is expected to reach $183.1 billion in 2009. Canada's system is known as a single payer system, where basic services are provided by private doctors (financed jointly by the provinces and the federal government). Canadians are a federal responsibility and the federal government guarantees complete coverage of their health needs. In addition 30% of Canadians' health care is paid through the private sector. This mostly goes towards services not covered by Medicare, such as 1 2 3 4 5 >>