Injustice through Inequality: A Dystopian Future of Healthcare

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Mr. Krish Keswani, currently a second year student at the GMERS Medical College , Gotri in Vadodara, India. He is affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writers and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one.

The Hippocratic Oath has bound generations of medical students and doctors to the notion of providing impartial and equal treatment to all , devoid of prejudice on basis of any grounds, yet ironically , inequality in healthcare is a societal issue prevalent from the early ages to the modern day and it doesn’t show any signs of going away anytime soon unless action is taken.

The WHO defines health inequalities as “Health inequities are differences in health status or in the distribution of health resources between different population groups, arising from the social conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age.”
The gap which exists between the “haves” and “have-nots” continues to widen in many countries which is met with apathy by the general public and media much to the dismay of those who are affected by such conditions. They are left to fend for themselves with no help or understanding coming their way.

The root cause of health inequality is the unequal allocation of power and resources—including goods, services, and societal attention—which manifest in unequal social, economic, and environmental conditions. This leads to a paradoxical situation wherein there are enough healthcare resources to provide state of the art treatment to the privileged classes of society while those from lower socio-economic strata are denied their right to healthcare as they do not possess the means necessary to obtain them.

It is the need of the hour to bring this issue to light and to accomplish this , medical students need to be at the forefront of advocating for change. Medical students around the globe are important stakeholders in the medical fraternity and thus their voices can and will be heard if they approach the issue in a systematic manner.

Medical students around the world can advocate for a change in the medical curriculum which will encompass the history and current scenario of health inequality prevalent at a global as well as national scale pertaining to each country. This will raise a sense of urgency and empathy among the millions of students’ and their families which is essential for bringing about revolutionary thinking in this aspect.

Medical students’ unions and organizations can approach their respective governments and people in power , urging them to set up a greater number of Primary Health Centers in the rural and urban slum areas of the country. This will not only boost the reach of healthcare facilities being provided to the underprivileged but will also help in reducing the load on the government hospitals which are already overrun with a high patient load and acute healthcare staff shortages.
Moreover , medical students can also volunteer at such Primary Health Centers and work with Non-Profit Organizations to deliver essential medicines , vaccines , etc. to the impoverished areas. This will further serve to enhance their clinical skills and provide them with hands on experience.

Equal access to healthcare should no longer be a distant dream but a reality which every citizen wakes up to.

References

NCBI. (n.d.). The root causes of health inequity – NCBI bookshelf. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK425845/

WHO. (n.d.). Health inequities and their causes. World Health Organization.Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/facts-in-pictures/detail/health-inequities-and-their-causes

Williams, E.,& Buck, D. (2022, June 17). What are health inequalities? The King’s Fund. Retrieved from https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/what-are-health-inequalities

About the author

Krish Keswani is currently a second year student at the GMERS Medical College , Gotri in Vadodara, India. He showed an interest in medicine from an early age .On the surface he may seem like an ordinary med student, however he has a knack for writing and public speaking, a skill which he has been developing since his childhood. He did his schooling from Dubai and secured second rank in his school in his final year and apart from pursuing his academic goals, he likes to write, practice playing the guitar and train in calisthenics.