OPINION | Pipe dream or possibility? The quest for universal healthcare in Africa - Universal healthcare is crucial to realising social and economic potential but countries must rethink how they fund and manage such systems
Universal healthcare is something few countries have managed to get right. The funding, logistics and skills required are extensive and implementation is downright impossible without a high level of connected infrastructure development to support this.
However, right now there are huge variations in healthcare offerings across the continent. Significant levels of inequality mean that some areas have pockets of excellence, as in parts of South Africa, for example, while others have next to no infrastructure or healthcare professionals to speak of. How on earth did the continent get here? And, more important, how can it find a better way to meet the healthcare needs of its citizens?The history of the Western model of healthcare in Africa started with missionaries. It was not free, but under the guise of spreading the word of God, healthcare was heavily subsidised, although provided at very different levels of sophistication, depending on who, and where, you were.
Innovation need not only come through pioneering new technologies, there are low-tech solutions to be considered, too. Malawi is making progress on addressing maternal mortality through the use of age-old and relatively inexpensive communication devices — walkie-talkies — to enable remote villages to call ambulances to transport pregnant women to hospitals or clinics in an emergency.
Two things might make a seismic difference here. First, there may be an opportunity to tap into the knowledge, experience — and finances — of medical professionals in the diaspora who are passionate about Africa to help reshape and rethink healthcare systems. While too many such professionals have left in search of greener pastures, many are eager to find ways to contribute back home.
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