Health equity an immediate need of the hour

Although the pandemic has posed greater challenges to everyday life, it is not the only health issue to have the gravest impact on people who are socially, economically or geographically disadvantaged. These inequities are not new. Even as the world has seen impressive improvements in average levels of health, life expectancy and premature mortality, these gains are not shared equally across different sections of society within and across nations.  

COVID-19 is just the latest example of why WHO is so focused on achieving Health for All –supporting the creation of circumstances and both social, economic and environmental conditions that allow people to fulfil their health potential and overcoming barriers that prevent people from accessing quality health services and ensuring that those services are available everywhere and to everyone.

The curative health care sector -particularly the primary ambulatory curative care sector – has issues of accessibility and quality of clinical care issues

 According to Consultant Family Physician Dr. Ruvais Haniffa lessons learnt from COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted that some people have limited or lack of opportunities to live healthier lives and have lesser access to health services than others. This is due to their socio economic conditions which have a direct impact on how they grow, live and work.  “Therefore, it is vital to reach the vulnerable population in the community to identify the challenges they face in achieving a fairer and healthier world in the future.

“In Sri Lanka people are really not concerned about their health. They are actually concerned about their diseases. They seek medical care only when their health deteriorates due to unhealthy life style, poor diet and lack of appreciation of a good mental status. Then they go in to a crisis management mode seek medical treatment as opposed to medical care for these illnesses as opposed to their health. Having said that there are a significant number among us who develop medical conditions beyond our control for which we must seek medical care without any delay. But what I wish for our people is that they view health more holistically,” he added.

“However we have done quite well in ensuring our people have access to healthcare services in the state sector and to a limited extent in the private sector throughout the country.  The fact that in the state sector cost of care at point of delivery free is huge plus point in equitability. This concept must be preserved and sustained in a manner where the system does not collapse on itself due to poor administrative, managerial and financial constraints,” the doctor said. 

Dr Haniffa further said that although we do have equitable access to healthcare, looking deeper this is really confined to the preventive healthcare sector. “The curative health care sector -particularly the primary ambulatory curative care sector – has issues of accessibility and quality of clinical care issues. If we are to enhance equitable access to all levels of care to all Sri Lankans I am of the opinion that the next phase of Sri Lankan Health Sector development should to a very larger extent concentrate on improving primary ambulatory curative care services throughout the country and link it to secondary, tertiary and higher centers of excellence though a functional back and forth referral system in which the patient and not the healthcare professionals becomes the focus of attention,” concluded Dr Haniffa.