In the last activity we learned that the health system in our community is created to look after us and get us the care we need. But what happens if this system – or parts of it – don’t work the way they’re supposed to, or if there are obstacles preventing children from accessing this care?

In many places around the world, including in the UK, weak parts of health systems and other obstacles prevent children from having access to the care they need. This means that children’s right to the best possible health is at risk.
In this activity we’ll explore why health systems sometimes don’t work the way they should, and how this puts children’s rights and futures at risk.

In the Paddington bear story, Mr. Brown is a risk analyst. This means his job is to think about everything that might go wrong and why. When Paddington first met the Browns, Mr. Brown was terribly worried about all the risks that could come of keeping a bear in his house with his family.

What do you think were some of the risks that Mr. Brown worried about? What might have been the risks for Paddington if the Browns hadn’t given him a home?

What problems do we have with accessing health care in our community?

Now think about the health care around the world.

1) What might be some risks to children if health systems aren’t working? 
2) What are some of the obstacles that prevent children from getting the healthcare that they need.

 Some examples might include:
1) If health systems aren’t working, people won’t have any place to go when they’re sick. Children won’t get their immunisations, a pandemic could cause another lockdown, people might die, people might not get the medicines they need, sick children won’t be able to go to school.
 

2) Obstacles to getting healthcare might include clinics being closed, hospitals being full so they can’t take other patients, surgeries being cancelled, not enough healthcare workers, people not going to hospital because they are afraid of catching a virus, or medicines or vaccines not being available.

How does our health care compare to that in other countries. Do you think we can find a solution to these problems? Is there anything we can do as an individual, school or community to help improve health care around the world to make sure that every child has access to the best possible health.