Health Care Models in Cambodia and Kenya, Research Paper Example

Good health is one of the basic needs of humanity. When one is healthy, he or she can go about his or her duties and responsibilities with ease. This would ensure a healthy workforce, providing the necessary manpower to drive the economy of any country. Having a healthy population means that a government channels its resources towards other equally important human needs such as food security and shelter. On the contrary, societies with poor health trail their counterparts in terms of economic development, quality of life, sports, and politics. It is thereforeimportant that countries deploy competent health strategies to ensure they have healthy populations. These include both preventative and treatment mechanisms. This article presents a comparison of health care models in Cambodia and Kenya.

The Cambodian Model of Health Care Delivery

Cambodia is an Asian country that lies between Thailand and Vietnam. The country had one of the best economic growth rates in the world over the last decade, averaging at 7.7% between 2001 and 2010. Records at the World Health Organization indicate that it has a population of slightly over fourteen million people most of whom are youths. The country has an infant mortality rate of forty five per thousand live births and a maternal mortality rate of 206 per hundred thousand live births (WHO & Ministry of Health, Cambodia, 2012). The HIV prevalence among adults stands at 0.7 percent, while the life expectancy is 63.1 years. Cambodia spends 5.9 percent of its Gross Domestic Product, GDP, on healthcare. This data is based on a survey done by the United Nations Development Program in 2011.

The Kenyan Model of Health Care Delivery

Kenya is an East African country with a population of approximately 40 million people.Sources at the World Health Organization state that Kenya has a life expectancy of fifty years. Kenya has an infant mortality rate of approximately 121 for every 1000 live births. Statistics show that this drops to 91 per 1000 births among the wealthiest 20% of the population, and increases to 150 among the poorest 20% (Turin, 2013).. The HIV prevalence among Kenyan adults stands at around 10%, with the Nyanza region having the highest rates (up to double the national average in some areas). The high occurrence of HIV provides a good environment for opportunistic diseases such as Tuberculosis which is also highly prevalent in the country. In fact, the rate of the co-infection for HIV and TB was at 45% in 2008. Malaria is also very prevalent and accounts for 13.6% of all infant deaths (Ministry of Health, 2012).

Comparisons between the Kenyan and Cambodian Health Care Systems

The Cambodian health sector is governed by the Ministry of Health which is the custodian of all health related issues. The ministry functions to ensure that the Cambodian population’s health needs are met in an equitable way. According to the Cambodia Health Service Delivery Profile of 2012, the country has a strategic health care plan which encompasses three key areas of healthcare including “reproductive, maternal, new-born and child health; communicable diseases; and NCDs”. Cambodia also has a framework (The Strategic Framework for Health Financing 2008-15) whose purpose is to eliminate barriers to the provision of quality healthcare be they financial, social, or political. Cambodia also has a framework for its health system infrastructure which was developed in conjunction with the World Health Organization in 1996.

Public health services are provided at two levels in Cambodia; the Minimum Package of Activity (MPA) which is available in all health centres, and the Complementary Package Activity (CPA) available only in referral hospitals. The country also has six national hospitals that provide tertiary services. The private sector is also active, though they provide minimal services.

The Kenyan health system is also run by the Kenyan Ministry of Health, which was split into two after the 2007 general elections. This resulted into two sister ministries; the Ministry of Medical Services and the Ministry of Public Health. The two were later merged back into the Ministry of Health after the 2013 general elections. Kenya has one national hospital, the Kenyatta National Hospital, and one referral hospital, the Eldoret Referral Hospital. The national hospital handles the most complex medical issues both from within Kenya and in the East African Region. The next level of hospitals is found in the eight regions formally known as provinces. There are smaller facilities in the regions called District Hospitals that offer healthcare to most of the Kenyan population. District hospitals provide most health services, including surgeries. Under the District hospitals are health centres that provide the most basic health care such as diagnosis.

Similarities

1. Both the Kenyan and Cambodian governments fund their health care facilities through taxpayer money. This enables both countries provide health services at subsidized rates. For instance, the Cambodian government provided 21.27% of all funds required to run their public healthcare system. The remaining 73.1% was financed by out-of-pocket payments and other funds.
2. Both health care systems employ performance based contracting in their operations although they were both reduced recently. However, this has not been fully implemented across the board. Some sections of the Kenyan medical communityare opposed to the idea of performance contracting andtherefore oppose the idea.

Differences

1. The Cambodian health care system provides equity funds to cater for the shortage of funds to finance the medical needs of the poor. On the contrary, the Kenyan medical system treats all people at the same level, rich or poor. This makes it easier for Cambodians to access medical services (World Bank, The2013).
2. Healthcare provision is carried out at two levels in Cambodia that is Minimum Package of Activity (MPA) which is available in all health centres, and the Complementary Package Activity (CPA). However, the Kenyan system provides services in all hospitals, although some more specialized services are only available in the national and referral hospitals due to shortage of resources.

Risk Factors That Make Populations Susceptible To Diseases

The Kenyan health system is highly underfunded, making the population vulnerable to health problems. In addition, Kenyan politics affects operations at the Ministry of Health. This affects the delivery of health services negatively. For instance, there were a lot of discrepancies brought about by lack of coordination when the Ministry of Health was split into the medical services and public health ministries respectively. Medical staff who are employees of the Medical Services Ministry went on strike, affecting the whole health sector. This denied numerous patients their right to healthcare, leading to the demise of several patients including children and expectant mothers.

The Columbian population’s main health concern is the spread of non-communicable diseases. This is based on findings of a survey carried out by the Cambodian Ministry of Health in conjunction with the University of Health Sciences. This includes diseases such as diabetes. This is mainly associated to heavy intake of alcohol and cigarettes. The public should be sensitized on the need to regulate the intake of alcohol and cigarettes.

Mortality rates are higher in Kenya, most likely because it has lower quality healthcare compared to Cambodia. Kenya has an infant mortality rate of approximately 121 for every 1000 live births. On the other hand, Cambodia has an infant mortality rate of forty five per thousand live births and a maternal mortality rate of 206 per hundred thousand live births; Kenya’s maternal death rate is also higher than that of Cambodia.

References

Ministry of Health (2012). Kenya Health Policy 2012 – 2030. Retrieved from http://www.healthresearchweb.org/files/KenyaHealthpolicyfinalversion.pdf

Turin, D. R. (2013).Health Care Utilization in the Kenyan Health System: Challenges and Opportunities. The International Student Journal, 2(9): pgs 1-3. Retrieved from http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/284/health-care-utilization-in-the-kenyan-health-system-challenges-and-opportunities

WHO & Ministry of Health, Cambodia.(2012). Health Service Delivery Profile. Retrieved from http://www.wpro.who.int/health_services/service_delivery_profile_cambodia.pdf

World Bank, The (2013). Cambodia: The Rural Poor are Receiving Free Heath Care in PreahVihear. Retrieved from http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2013/08/20/cambodia-the-rural-poor-are-receiving-free-heath-care-in-preah-vihear