Currently instead of enjoying the thrill of tea baggers in the United States I am spending my semester in the picturesque Andes Mountains in Cuenca, Ecuador where the elevation is high and a visiting student has many opportunities to fall ill. Lucky for me I have only had to deal the infamous traveler’s diarrhea and being chuchaqui (the Cuenca equivalent of being hung over). I have not had the pleasure of needing to use the Ecuadorian health system on my trip, but living in a different country makes me more aware of the differences between the Unites States and Ecuador in society and in politics.
In the United States, health care is still at the center of the political debate. It is my hope that when I return, the government will have passed real health care reform, making health care accessible and affordable for all.
In Ecuador the government, mainly the current President Rafael Correa, believes in the importance and necessity of providing health care services to help the poor and the indigenous. This system, however, is flawed.
Ecuador’s health care system is a complex mix of public and private providers that work together to guarantee health care to all citizens. Ecuador’s Ministry of Public Health and Social Security Institute each cover approximately 30 percent of the population, and in total, there are more than 17,000 physicians and 5,200 nurses working in the public system. And while the poor and elderly have access to subsidized care, and free reproductive health services are guaranteed for all, the health system is hardly equitable.
While the size and structure of the health care system in the United States and Ecuador are different, they both have similar problems. In Ecuador 40 percent of the population lives in poverty and 20 to 30 percent of Ecuadorians, according to the Pan American Health Organization, lack immediate access to health services. The people lacking these services are the indigenous that live in central provinces, Amazonia and in the Sierra. And in the United States, the ¨richest nation in the world,” 48 million people have no insurance.
While comparing the United States and Ecuador health care systems, it is important to note the differences. Many people in the United States would consider Ecuador to be “developing,” however, the death rate of Ecuador according the CIA World Factbook is 4.99 deaths/ 1,000 people. The United States death rate is 8.38 deaths/1000 people. And even though social services in Ecuador definitely need improvements, it is important to remember that the United States has the money to have a more equitable health care system and the problem lies in the political will of our government.
In Ecuador it is easy to see that citizens hold the collective higher than the individual. This value is important for changes to be made in the inequitable system. While our sense of individualism is unique to the United States, we can learn lessons from countries like Ecuador.
Almost equal in Ecuador
Published: Thursday, October 22, 2009
Updated: Thursday, October 22, 2009
2 comments
Heather Kangas
To be absolutely honest with you. I think numbers and stats are a distraction for what is really going on. We are ranked 37 in health care in the world and are the richest country that is just unacceptable. People are dying and you care stats. But that{s fine cause 48 million people in our nation have no health insurance that is a fact and we send tons of people into bankrupcy each year because of it. No one chooses to get sick and no one should be denied this human right.
Your name
"the death rate of Ecuador according the CIA World Factbook is 4.99 deaths/ 1,000 people. The United States death rate is 8.38 deaths/1000 people": uh, this statistic is very misleading: according to the same source the median age in Ecuador is 25, the median age in the United States is 36.7. Older people of course die more often.
RSS Feeds
