Somali Health System Paper

Somalia is burdened with communicable diseases that are the leading cause of deaths of people. The economic status of Somalia is poor thus making funding for the health sector limited. Somalia has an extremely high child mortality rate due to lack of vaccination. The ministry of Somali does not have a developed central healthcare service package; this has led to impairment in the sharing and delivery of health resources and infrastructure (Qayad). The cost of medical services in Somalia is costly since the majority of the health sector is run by private investors. Most people with the non-communicable disease die due to lack of funds to buy medication to sustain their health; they cannot afford checkups or follow a set medical routine.

Good health of a country is influenced heavily by the quality of the health sector in a country. Somalia’s healthcare system is of poor quality due to lack of a proper administrative medical structure. Somalia has no appropriate functioning medical ethical enforcement agency or drug control agency which has led to poor quality of health services. There is negligence of people’s health by physicians due to lack of establishment of strict health guidelines. Most health facilities in Somalia were destroyed due to the war that broke out in Somalia. Most health facilities in Somalia are built and run by NGO’s; this is due to the large gap left after the collapse of the public health sector in Somalia.

The fact that most facilities are privately owned or run by NGO’s has led to limited access to the health facilities because there is no longer free medical services. People who lack the financial ability have been locked out from accessing health facilities in Somalia (WHO, 2006). Most mothers are taken care of by poorly trained birth attendants who put their lives at risk and may lead to their untimely demise and that of their children when complications occur (WHO, 2106); the reason they look for service from unskilled laborers is due to lack of access to health facilities. Most of the population is in a devastating state with lack of access to adequate and quality health services (Sapir and Ratnayake, 2009). The political instability makes it difficult for the government to offer any financial support to the healthcare system in Somalia.

Political affiliation can affect the quality of healthcare within a country. The current state of America’s politics is relatively stable. There are government regulations in place that run the healthcare system of United States of America. Due to the belief that health does not necessarily need medical interventions there is little investment in the health sector as the cultural beliefs and practices support traditional administration of medicine and believe that any death that occurs through a disease is the will of God Cultural beliefs in the United States has profound effects on the development and distribution of health facilities. The United States, on the contrary, believes that illness is a result of science and therefore they culturally believe and advocate for medical treatment, unlike Somalia.

This cultural belief helps the health sector receive support not only from citizens but well-wishers to help in the improvement of scientific research for ways to better the health sector. The cultural beliefs in medication for the aid in the health sector have greatly enhanced the reception of health information in America and aided in the development of a better health sector in the United States. In Somali, the culture has led to the deaths of many mothers during childbirth. Many Somalis with mental illness are socially isolated and vulnerable (WHO, 2016). Culturally they should not associate with fellow family members this leads to them rarely getting any medical attention or proper care. Income and wealth affect the general health development of a country.

Developing countries have struggling health sectors, unlike wealthy countries which can invest in projects to better the state of the health sector. Somalia’s resources and wealth are concentrated in urban areas where most of the privileged and wealthy are found (WHO, 2016). Somalia had a central government and health sector before the civil war began. The health sector and services were accounted for by the Health ministry in Somalia (WHO, 2016). During the era the health sector was stable, and there were adequate medical practitioners in Somalia. After the war broke the health sector fell apart; it created a wide inequality in access to health services within the country. The country lacked any policies that would transform the health sector; this led to government expenditure in the health sector declining gradually (WHO, 2016) and 80% of Somalis population lacking access to health services.

There is decreased access to safer drinking water which leaves the country struggling to treat a disease that could have been avoided through proper use of natural resource. The spread of communicable diseases such as diarrhea and cholera is prevalent due to the polluted water that most Somalis intake. Forty-four percent of mothers and children die due to communicable diseases. When comparing the health system of Somalia to those in the coursework, it is evident that Somali as a country has a poor healthcare system that cannot protect its citizens from numerous avoidable illnesses. There is an urgent need to improve the numbers of properly health practitioners in the country. Retrieved January 29, 2018, from https://www. unicef. org/somalia/health. html S.