Question

Use the information in this report to respond to the following question, World Health Report: Health Systems (the world health report 2000).

How well have global health systems performed? (Answer in approx 250 words).

Answer 1

Health systems have played a part in the dramatic rise in life expectancy that occurred during the 20th century. They have contributed enormously to better health and influenced the lives and well-being of billions of men, women and children around the world. Their role has become increasingly important.

Health systems would seem no different from other social systems in facing demands and incentives to perform as well as possible, and it might be expected that – with some degree of regulation by the state – their performance could be largely left to markets, just as with the provision of most other goods and services

Health, then, is a characteristic of an inalienable asset, and in this respect it somewhat resembles other forms of human capital, such as education, professional knowledge or athletic skills. But it still differs from them in crucial respects. It is subject to large and unpredictable risks, which are mostly independent of one another. And it cannot be accumulated as knowledge and skills can. These features are enough to make health radically unlike all other assets which people insure against loss or damage, and are the reason why health insurance is more complex than any other kind of insurance. If a car worth US$ 10 000 would cost $15 000 to repair after an accident, an insurer would only pay $10 000. The impossibility of replacing the body, and the consequent absence of a market value for it, precludes any such ceiling on health costs

The physical integrity and dignity of the individual are recognized in international law, yet there have been shameful instances of the perversion of medical knowledge and skills, such as involuntary or uninformed participation in experiments, forced sterilization, or violent expropriation of organs. Health systems therefore have an additional responsibility to ensure that people are treated with respect, in accordance with human rights.