What happens when health systems fail?
 

Health systems and access to these systems can look very different in countries around the world. While some countries like the UK have a healthcare system like the NHS, intended to give everyone in the UK access to the care they need, about half of the world’s population goes without regular, affordable, reliable access to healthcare. In these places, children are being denied their right to the best possible health.
While the world can sometimes feel very big, and places like Ukraine, Bangladesh, China, and Peru can feel very far away from the UK, we’ve all learned during the COVID-19 pandemic that health systems around the world are very connected and dependent on one another. When health systems are disrupted in one place, for example, there can be knock on effects felt in many other places.
In this session, we’ll expand on the activities we’ve done so far in exploring our own health system and the obstacles towards ensuring everyone, everywhere has access to health coverage. We’ll build a broader understanding of how health systems around the world are interconnected and need to be strengthened.

The COVID-19 pandemic around the world has overwhelmed health systems and interrupted routine immunisation services that prevent childhood diseases like measles.

In Nepal, the national measles vaccine campaign was stopped in 2020 because of the COVID-19.

UNICEF, alongside WHO (The World Health Organisation), helped support the government of Nepal to design a way that they could carefully complete the vaccine campaign during the pandemic so children wouldn’t be at risk of the measles, which is a preventable disease.

In this picture, Farinda (aged four) is held by her mother while she gets the measles-rubella (MR) vaccine at an immunisation centre in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Health systems must be stronger so children don’t lose out on their right to the best possible health when a crisis happens like the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Somalia there is a severe drought and almost 5 million children aren’t able to get the nutritious food they need to stay healthy. [Source: UNICEF]

Health services in the country are unavailable or unreachable, making newborn babies and young children especially vulnerable to harm. 

Simple, and low-cost community health clinics provide a basis for improving the health of young children. Health workers at the clinic diagnose and treat common childhood illnesses; vaccinate children against measles, meningitis and other diseases; provide nutrition counselling and treatment; and distribute hygiene kits to families. They also teach community members about important health practices.

Dr Zahara Mohmud attends to a malnourished baby at the UK Government and UNICEF-supported health centre in Hargeisa, Somaliland.

Health systems must be stronger, so children don’t lose out on their right to the best possible health when crises like drought come.

In Yemen there has been a war going on for many years which has affected the country’s health system terribly. 

Over half of all medical facilities in Yemen are closed because of possible dangers, and it’s hard for people to travel to get healthcare because the roads are blocked, there are fuel shortages, and many people live in remote areas.  

Because the health system isn’t strong, it’s hard for children to access immunisations and basic healthcare. 

In this picture, you see a team of health workers who are traveling by foot to reach a mountain community to deliver vaccines and vitamins to help keep children in the best possible health. The fifth member of the team is a donkey. The donkey carries a gas cylinder, which powers a generator to keep the vaccines cold on the journey up and over the mountain.

Health systems must be stronger, so children don’t lose out on their right to the best possible health when conflict arises.

In each of these stories, UNICEF is working here to help fill needs where there are gaps in the health system so that children’s rights are realised, but it shouldn’t have to be this way. Every child has the right to have access to a strong healthcare system that supports them to achieve their best possible health. 

Work in small groups to consider these questions, thinking about your chosen country. Then rewrite the story so it has a stronger health system and a rights-respecting ending, sharing with the rest of the wider group.

• How is our health care system different to the health care systems in the stories?
• What are the obstacles or challenges that children in the stories face that keep them from accessing their rights?
• How could the health care in these countries be strengthened so that all children around the world experience their full right to the best possible health.

Article 24 says that it is the responsibility of richer countries to help poorer countries achieve the best possible health for children. How could the UK help other countries?