8.0 billion people: and now what? A reflection on the challenges and solutions for an increasingly overburdened healthcare system

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Ms. Paula Ladero, a 5th year Medical Student currently studying in University of Oviedo, Spain. She 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 writer and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one.

15th November 2022 was a date to mark in calendars from all over the world. On that day, the United Nations (UN) reported some long-awaited yet concerning data: the global human population had reached 8.0 billion. Facing a rapid diminishment of energetic, food and land resources, worsened by poor and equitable distribution, current and future populations -especially those from low and middle income countries (LMIC)- are exposed to an unprecedented threat: societies worldwide might not be able to provide a decent living to every individual.

The strain on natural and human resources is also affecting healthcare systems (HS). Despite significant efforts directed to post-pandemic recovery, about 2 billion people (25% of the global population) are nowadays facing “catastrophic or impoverishing health spending”, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). These numbers are severely tinted with inequalities, both within and across borders, and present one of the biggest challenges that humanity is to fight against during the next decade.

An important characteristic that shapes this global-scale crisis is that HS are not only burdened with bigger populations, but also with “new” ones. Communities have been evolving over time towards increased longevity, higher rates of lifestyle-related diseases and drastic population changes due to international migration, which grows faster every year as a direct consequence of war and environmental disasters. As a result, healthcare providing is encumbered by an urgent need to change and adapt if we want to ever achieve UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG3): “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”, what is also understood as Universal Health Coverage (UHC). 

In order to do so, decision makers should, among others, strive for the following targets:

• Implement universal access to sexual and reproductive care, family planning an education (target 3.7)
• Increase health financing and support health workforce in developing countries (target 3.b)
• Improve work conditions for healthcare professionals, with a special mention to frontliners, and implement mental-health initiatives
• Collaborate to create and strengthen national Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs)
• Support research, development and universal access to affordable vaccines and medicines (target 3.c)
• Urge governments to include in their policies equitable, adequate and accessible healthcare providing 
• Develop international strategies to include migrants and refugees into registries and HS
• Design community-based programmes directed to reinforce rural healthcare providing, including indigenous and other vulnerable communities
• Develop and adopt mitigation and adaptation methods that promote greener and more sustainable healthcare facilities, thereafter reducing HS’ alarming greenhouse gasses emissions

As future healthcare providers, young professionals and youth civils society, it is our duty to advocate for these changes, ranging from changes in the medical curriculum to youth-led political and community-based initiatives. Understanding that heath-related crisis are caused by cross-cutting, complex determinants will help us lead the conversation in the direction of multidisciplinary, innovative and just action.

About the author

Paula Ladero is a 5th year Medical Student currently studying in University of Oviedo, Spain. She is affiliated with the Associació d’Estudiants de Ciències de la Salut (AECS-Catalonia), member organisation of the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA). She is currently National Public Health Officer in AECS, where she works on diverse national, European and Global Health issues, with a special focus on environmental health and activity management capacity building.