Should Public Health Be a Priority to the Governments of the World?Modern governments exist solely for the benefit of their People. As such, the focus for most world governments must be on the welfare of their People. Public health is, therefore, a necessity that must be a high priority for all modern governments throughout the entire globe. Unfortunately, maintaining public health is a complex process and requires significant resources.
Without an effort to address public health issues, economies are at risk. While an unhealthy population cannot sustain productivity, systematic health issues are quite Costly to fix. A lack of effort to hinder the spread of infectious diseases would leave society plagued by constant sickness that would, in turn, disrupt places of work as well as other public environments like schools. Furthermore, hereditary health concerns, such as diabetes and coronary heart disease, can also undermine the long-term success of a nation. Shorter lived workers, who cannot contribute to their society as long, will be less likely to pursue professional careers with lengthy training. A loss of professional expertise will leave an economy at a serious disadvantage. The United States and other developed nations have done quite a bit to ensure public health will not be undermined by disease. Meanwhile, the Peoples of these nations also enjoy the option of advanced medical care. By contrast, underdeveloped nations cannot so easily offer the same services, thus they undermine their economies as well. Of course, public health involves more than disease control. In the US, under utilization of the healthcare system, as well as the lack of affordability, is one area of public health that desperately needs improved. In addition, environmental concerns also undermine public health as do the rising costs of quality food and energy. For underdeveloped nations, these issues are even more detrimental while all nations can do more to address these public health concerns. Without a healthy people, a nation cannot be healthy. Although maintaining public health does need to be a top priority for all nations, building the necessary services and institutes can be overwhelming, especially for nations with extremely limited resources and fewer economic opportunities. Once an aspect of public health is neglected, the cost of rebuilding those services creates a vicious cycle that is difficult to end. Moreover, by addressing neglected health issues, all nations can improve the health of their people and their countries. |
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