Introduction
Health expenditure is increasing from a day-to-day global perspective. The world spent US $ 4.7 trillion in 2006 (WHO, 2009). Some countries spend more of the world’s resources than is expected against the proportional population. The nations which have a large burden of the world’s diseases though their population is not high are found to utilize only a small percentage of the financial resources as health expenditure. Richer nations with only a small disease burden and less population have been found to use more on health expenditure (WHO, 2009). This is the main reason for wanting to have some regulation of funds. The question of the efficiency of using more funds for fewer people also arises. One of the goals of the Millenium Development is to reduce the out-of-pocket expenditure of the poor as this is the reason for financial barriers to the access of goods and services (WHO, 2009a). The richer nations have pre-payment systems that protect them from catastrophes in time of need. The average global expenditure for health per person per year in 2006 was the US $ 716 (Fact Sheet, 2009). The highest expenditure per person per year on health was the US $ 6719 while the lowest was $ 5. The OECD countries had an average of $3509.
United Nations
United Nations actively participates in arranging the best standards and guarantees for human beings running the gamut of all countries worldwide. In this respect health promotion in the world is in many aspects depends on the decisions taken by the UN. The members of the UN related to the global health promotion urge to maintain the condition of human safety from different mortal viruses and diseases. Bhargava (2006) admits that among approximately 70 global health initiatives the main ones are the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria set up in June 2001 (176). Thus, global health is the main terrain of the pivotal initiatives proposed and already implemented by the UN funding programs. The additional support to the organization is also on the part of the Great of Eight.
By the maternal health stability, the main body responsible for global health promotion in the UN is the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF). The main vision of this department is to make sure “every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect” (Jacobsen, 2008, p. 89). Thus, the continuum of the UN activities in terms of global health initiatives is huge. Financing is stable, and cooperation with State Members is firm.
The World Bank
Corruption is the biggest hurdle to socio-economic development according to the World Bank. This bill weakens the development and the law which governs development. The poor are severely affected by economic decline and they suffer the most in a corrupt society. The bribery, fraud, and misappropriation of finances and privileges affect them. Corruption causes a sabotaging of the policies and programs intended for better health care. The World Bank aims at effectively stamping out corruption. Among its key strategies, the enhancement of political accountability is essential. Society’s involvement in the effort needs to be solicited. The private sector must be competitive enough to run alongside the government efforts. Restraints on the power of the institutions would harmonize activities. Public sector management would further coordinate the moves for overcoming corruption. The World Bank supports the various anti-corruption programs of the members. Policy liberalization allows subsidies and reduces the opportunity for corruption. An active and corruption-free private sector is encouraged. Regulation of the companies and industries helps to keep the corruption level low. Regulatory reforms help to promote efficiency, limit corruption and exhibit transparency through public hearings.
Seeking to uncover the corruption in different nations through effective sanctions on politicians is one manner of holding them accountable for their actions. Instituting an effective system for party funding and avoiding malpractice for the collection of money for the party should be established through ethical practices. Oversight, a proper manner of enforcement, and frequent monitoring
should govern the ethical procurement of funding. Donations are to be made public. The imposition of legal limits for political expenditure is another useful strategy. Public services must be rendered neutrally and transparently. Proper legislation should ensure that the system is noncorrupt and accountable.
The WHO
The WHO has an agenda with six salient points. The main strategy is the promotion of development. Health security is to be reinforced. Research, gathering of information, and looking for evidence-based information constitute another major strategy. Partnerships among prominent citizens, industries, non-governmental organizations, and member nations would be another significant move that ensures the cooperation of a large part of the community. Socio-economic progress goes hand-in-hand with health. Equity is the ethical principle that caters to the large population facing poverty. Life-saving measures must be accessible to all people, whether poor or not. The Millenium Development Goals are to be attained by the treatment of chronic diseases and tropical diseases. The speedy urbanization, mismanagement of the environment, the manner of production and trading of food, and the manner of antibiotic usage and misuse have increased the threats of epidemics of newly evolved illnesses. The Revised International Health Regulations have strengthened the fight against epidemics. The reinforcement of health systems to reach the poor and underserved populations has been a matter of high priority in the WHO. Providing adequately trained staff, sufficient funds, systems for data collections and statistics, and appropriate technology for using drugs form some of the strategies. Collaboration with partners like the UN agencies and international organizations ensures that the best guidelines and practices are available to the global population. The WHO ensures that the efficiency and effectiveness of ongoing reforms are maintained. An environment conducive to the motivation of its staff and a rewarding experience is maintained by the WHO.
The IMF
Assistance is provided by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank’s International Development Assistance for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)
Initiative (IMF, 2010). The government of a nation needs to show a satisfactory performance by completing the IMF Extended Credit Facility for debt relief. Policy measures for achieving this include macroeconomic stability, good public financial management, and governance, reinforcing the education and health sectors, supporting growth, and debt management (IMF, 2010). Nations like Comoros would qualify for the HIPC initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief.
The US Government
The initiatives proposed by the US government for the last two decades are still annoying Americans due to the lack of reforms so needful for Medicare in the country. To date, the Obama administration takes care of determining all commitments to global health before the World Community (Board on Global Health, 2009). Thereupon, the main difficulty for keeping Americans in safety inside and outside the country concerns the complicated and largely half-done policy of national medical insurance. To coordinate the US health promotion agencies located worldwide, the kit is vital for the American government to engage in global health integration. In this respect, the assets represent the rationale in covering the main commitments of the US before the World Community. Obama’s administration has already worked out the scope of its contribution between the years 2008-2012 of a total of $15 billion (Board on Global Health, 2009). Hence, the United States is still one of the main players in the area of global health promotion.
Individual Country Governments
The issue of individual contributions to global health on the part of different country governments is also at the stake of the world discussion on health. In this respect such organizations as IMF, OECD, and, of course, the UN and the WHO are seeking to arrange the share which each State Member should donate. Moreover, the extent of contribution varies by a country’s needs and performance at the time (Bhargava, 2006). Thus, the main factor which impacts the number of commitments a definite country has depends on the policies and institutions and the way of governance in the country. Taking this into account, global perspectives on health are more reachable and require more participation on the part of various countries and their governments as well. At this point, there are many standards according to which a country should be tested. Hence, individual country governments are greatly encouraged to bring their mite in the health promotion throughout the world.
Non-Governmental Organizations
The non-governmental organizations which contribute to the various services on a global basis play a dominant role in health care too. They contribute to the various researches in health care (Delisle, 2005). The countries which avail of financial aid from the Global organizations are allowed to participate. The WHO unites with nations to find the best ways of increasing the availability of funds for health equitably, to use the funds efficiently, and pools the fund to protect the poor households in the international community (Fact Sheet, 2009).
Summary
The world spent the US $ 4.7 trillion in 2006 for health expenditure (WHO, 2009). One of the goals of the Millenium Development is to reduce the out-of-pocket expenditure of the poor as this is the reason for financial barriers to access of goods and services (WHO, 2009a). Among the key strategies of the World Bank for fighting corruption, the enhancement of political accountability is essential. Society’s involvement in the effort needs to be solicited. The private sector must be competitive enough to run alongside the government efforts. Restraints on the power of the institutions would harmonize activities. Public sector management would further coordinate the moves for overcoming corruption. The WHO unites with nations to find the best ways of increasing the availability of funds for health equitably, to use the funds efficiently, and pools the fund to protect the poor households in the international community (Fact Sheet, 2009). The main strategy of the six salient features of the WHO agenda is the promotion of development. Health security is to be reinforced. Research, gathering of information, and looking for evidence-based information constitute another major strategy. Partnerships among prominent citizens, industries, non-governmental organizations, and member nations would be another significant move that ensures the cooperation of a large part of the community. Policy measures for achieving a satisfactory performance include macroeconomic stability, good public financial management, and governance, reinforcing the education and health sectors, supporting growth, and debt management (IMF, 2010). NGOs and the nations themselves associate with the global organizations to achieve their aims of securing debt relief and acquiring sufficient financial resources.
Recommendations
Health expenditure is increasing from day-to-day in the global perspective, whether in the developed or developing nations. The picture is getting worse in low-income nations. The efforts to control health expenditure and corruption should come from a global perspective and the move should be a united and concerted one. International organizations like the World Bank, World Health Organization and the International Monetary Fund have rightly initiated the path towards achieving a controlled health expenditure for all. The efforts should be persevering in nature to achieve the targets set.
References
Delisle, H., Roberts, J.H., Munro, M., Jones, L. and Gyorkos, T.W. (2005). The role of NGOs in global health research for development. Health Research Policy and Systems, Vol. 3, No. 3.
Fact Sheet 2009. Spending on health 2006- A Global Update. Web.
WHO, (2009). National Health Accounts Policy Highlight No. I, Web.
WHO, (2009a). National Health Accounts Policy Highlight No. I, Web.
Heavy reliance on out of pocket expenditures leads to financial barriers. WHO.