Objectives of Medical Assistance for Third World Countries

Despite significant progress in several areas, citizens of developing countries continue to face considerable medical issues -- and many lack access to the services needed to prevent or treat such problems. Community leaders, government agencies and nongovernmental organizations involved in global health must work together to address the medical needs of these populations. Poor health status in low- and middle-income countries is a significant problem for individuals or families; it has repercussions for their social and economic standing in the world.

Communicable Diseases

• Perhaps the most well-known issue facing developing countries is their burden of communicable, or infectious, diseases. HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and parasitic infestations all substantially contribute to the rates of illness and death in these countries. The medical objectives of government leaders and organizations such as the World Health Organization are to diagnose individuals and provide proper treatment. The work of global health advocates is essential because many countries cannot afford the costs of some of these treatments. The communicable disease responsible for the most deaths in the developing world is HIV/AIDS, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. The key objective is to provide antiretroviral therapy to as many infected individuals as possible, thereby improving their life expectancy and quality of life.

Maternal and Child Health

• Another major goal is to provide medical assistance for women and children. In fact, 70 percent of child mortality occurs in Africa and Southeast Asia, according to the World Health Organization. These populations often have low status in society and lack a say in how their care is handled. Primary objectives are focused on providing nutritional supplements to pregnant women and children to reduce their medical risk from conditions such as iron-deficiency anemia. In addition, organizations strive to get vaccinations to children to limit their risk of infectious disease and promote their proper growth and development.

Chronic Diseases

• It's a misconception that chronic diseases are only a burden of wealthy nations. In reality, low- and middle-income countries are facing the challenge of both communicable diseases and chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes. These medical problems require continual care. Objectives must focus not only on providing medical treatment to those with these diseases but also on providing health education. Physicians and other medical workers must be trained to teach patients the importance of managing their condition and how they can do so. Another goal is to provide screening for noncommunicable conditions at the same time patients come in for infectious disease treatment.

Access to Care

• Many of these objectives for medical assistance will be hard to accomplish if access to health care is not improved. Those living in rural areas may have a difficult time getting to a medical facility; also, physicians in these developing countries can be in short supply. A major initiative is training community health workers who can be a presence in urban slums and rural villages. Organizations such as UNICEF support efforts to train these workers to handle a variety of medical concerns. Community health workers can also provide in-home care and ensure that patients are taking their medications as prescribed.