Abdusamad 1 

Zaynab Abdusamad 

Professor Overby 

English 111 

July 15, 2023 

Healthcare in Developing Countries

Healthcare plays an important factor in our lives because it helps improve our quality of life. However, many developing countries do not have the same access or quality of healthcare compared to those in developed countries. Which makes us ask: Why aren’t developing countries receiving the same quality of healthcare in comparison to the already developed countries? The reason why is that developing countries lack proper geographical accessibility, physicians, and high cost. 

A reason why developing countries do not have the same quality of healthcare in comparison to developed countries is because the majority of developing countries lack geographical accessibility which often refers to roads. Although in developed countries this may not seem like a big deal it plays a significant factor in our everyday lives, especially since cars play a big role in transportation. Because these poorer nations do not have access to well-developed roads it makes communication harder, increases travel time (which could be detrimental, especially if it's an emergency), and makes drug and medical supply distribution very uneasy. 

A lack of physicians is another factor that contributes to the poor quality of healthcare in developing countries. In a report from 2007 to 2013, it showed that developing countries such as Russia, Germany, and the UAE have at least three times the amount of physicians per 10,000 people in comparison to developing countries such as Yemen, Bangladesh, and Brazil. The main reason for this shortage is the lack of medical programs open for enrollment for medical students to attend.

Lastly, the high cost of healthcare in developing countries has caused their system to be poor quality. Developing countries spend less than 4% of their GDP on healthcare. This causes their healthcare systems to be underfunded, inefficient, but also expensive. Because of the high cost, many people avoid healthcare when unwell which only causes the case of diseases to rise. 

In conclusion, there are many factors that affect the quality of healthcare in developing countries. Luckily, things are being done to improve it. The World Bank and World Health Organization are trying to find a balance between developed and developing countries in terms of access to healthcare. Their plans consist of populating the poorest nations with experienced doctors, having doctors in developing countries study in developed countries, and holding medical charities. Although it may not seem like a lot, it’s a step forward in the right direction. 

Infographic 

https://infogram.com/healthcare-inforgraphic-1hxj48p9ek80q2v 

Citations 

Fazal, Faizan, et al. “The Rising Cost of Healthcare and Its Contribution to the Worsening Disease Burden in Developing Countries.” Annals of Medicine and Surgery (2012), 15 Sept. 2022, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9486377/. 

Manzanares, Nina. “How the Doctor Shortage Is Affecting Patients.” Adaptive Medical Partners, 13 Mar. 2023, 

adaptivemedicalpartners.com/how-the-doctor-shortage-is-affecting-patients/#:~:text=Without%2 0a%20physician%20who%20can,result%2C%20poor%20health%20outcomes%20arise. 

Peters, David H. “Poverty and Access to Health Care in Developing Countries.” Poverty and Access to Health Care in Developing Countries, 25 July 2008, 

nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1196/annals.1425.011.