學士後西醫-英文題庫下載題庫

The vast sums of money ploughed into efforts to fight diseases such as AIDS, TB and malaria in the last 10 years have saved many lives but have also sometimes undermined health systems in poor countries, according to a survey by the World Health Organisation (WHO) published recently. Funding for what the researchers call development assistance for health has quadrupled from $5.6bn (£3.4bn) in 1990 to $21.8bn in 2007. A worldwide outcry around the turn of the millennium over the plight of people in Africa dying of AIDS, a disease kept in check with drugs in rich countries, triggered a rush to fund big disease-fighting programs on the part of western governments, aid organizations and philanthropic donors. But until now, there has been little attempt to find out how well the money has been spent and what impact the focus on high-profile diseases has had on the everyday business of hospitals, clinics and overworked healthcare staff in the poorer countries. An extensive investigation headed by the WHO finds that, millions of people are alive because of the roll-out of HIV drugs to more than 3 million people in developing countries. The number of children protected against malaria by insecticide-impregnated bed nets rose almost eightfold from 3% in 2001 to 23% in 2006. Disease elimination programs, such as for polio and river blindness, are making good progress. Global immunization has also made big strides, the report says. However, the WHO reports warns, healthcare workers have been lured away from government hospitals by the higher salaries paid by international organizations involved in AIDS and other disease programs. Moreover, in some countries, the rush to win grants to fight AIDS, TB and malaria may have led to proposals being put forward that are inappropriate. Overall, the report found that “poor countries receive more money than countries with more resources, but there are strong anomalies. Sub-Saharan Africa receives the highest concentration of funding, but some African countries receive less aid than South American countries with lower disease burdens – like Peru and Argentina.”