Healthcare as a Basic Human Right: State of the Issue in Somalia

Healthcare in Somalia: is healthcare a basic human right argumentative essay The continent of Africa remains lowest in terms of many things, including healthcare. Africa holds 54 countries and is far too large to categorize the healthcare system of the entire continent. Somalia is a country located in Africa and has many problems regarding healthcare system, access to healthcare, population/city size, etc. Somalia ranks as the poorest country in Africa and Equatorial Guinea ranks as the wealthiest. Although, Somalia has a population of about 14.7 million people as of 2017 and Equatorial Guinea has a population of 1.26 million. Also, Somalia has one city with more than one million people and seven cities with 100,000-1,000,000. Equatorial Guinea has zero cities with one million people and 2 cities with 100,000-1,000,000. This may have a big impact on why one country is far poorer than the other. In this essay, I will discuss health care systems, key issues, access, quality, and more of Somalia; one of the poorest countries in Africa.

Healthcare in Somalia is in the private sector which essentially means that the hospitals and clinics are run by either not-for-profit organizations, charity, private hospitals, etc. In Somalia it is run by the Ministry of Health. Although, the World Health Organization has a long-term goal of getting universal healthcare coverage. This would be a huge gain for the people of Somalia because they would be able to get real health services and would not have to financially give everything they have or allow people who could not afford these services to use them. As of April 2018, the World Health Organization gathered for a seminar dedicated to discussing and creating a plan to achieve universal healthcare in Somalia. Although, Somalia continues to strive for this goal.

Expenditure on health tells us how much was spent on the services needed. In Somalia, the total expenditure on health as percent of GDP in 2001 was 2.6%. Although this is the last time the World Health Organization released this type of information, the percent is extremely low. Also, as of 2017, Somalia was spending the least amount on healthcare per person at $33. To put this in perspective, the United States of America spends $9,237. Although, this doesn't mean every single person is actually using $33 at the doctor or hospital per visit. The funds and goods are not equitably or equally distributed throughout Somalia. Therefore, we can understand that some people are getting even less than the $33 and some might not get anything at all.

Some key health sector issues in Somalia make getting healthcare harder. One big roadblock is the civil war that took over Somalia. The war created many problems. A large shortage of healthcare workers plagues the country. War efforts have largely prevented food distribution and many people suffer malnutrition. The government situation harms the people there in many ways. Al-shabaab, a violent terrorist-based group leaves Somalia's people living in harsh environments which largely impacts healthcare. Also, Somalia suffers from environmental issues as well such as a drought which affects not only the crops and livestock but makes it easy for people to have severe dehydration. There are many more ailments such as malaria, lack of immunizations, bad sanitation, etc. One out of three children under five years old die prematurely due to malnutrition. These are only some of the problems that Somalia has.

Compared to America, Somalia has many problems that would need a lot of help from other countries. In countries like Somalia, it doesn't seem like healthcare is human right but it is. Everyone is entitled to health, nutrition, shelter and more. Somalia is a part of the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and hopefully progress can be made to achieve these goals. There is a lot that needs to be done and Somalia is a long way away from universal health care but with help progress is achievable.

Works Cited

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Somalia Humanitarian Response Plan 2018. (2018, April 4). Retrieved March 10, 2020, from https://www.who.int/emergencies/response-plans/2018/som/en/

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