Expanding Access to Medical Resources

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Topic:
Country: Israel
Delegate Name: Annie Findlay

Israel provides universal healthcare coverage to citizens and permanent residents as part of its national health insurance law. Citizens are able to choose from 4 different non-profit healthcare plans. Israel has provided universal healthcare coverage since 1995, this means both citizens and residents of Israel both have a right to receive quality healthcare. The NHI (National Health Insurance) plans cannot reject applicants from healthcare. Therefore, everyone can fairly easily obtain healthcare (aside from a few populations such as soldiers and inmates because they receive healthcare from other sources than the 4 non-profit ones.
Here is a list of the services the NHI covers:
• hospital care
• primary and specialty care
• prescription drugs
• certain preventive services
• mental health care
• dental care for children and the elderly aged 75+
• diagnostic exams
• maternity care
• allied medical care (physiotherapy, occupational therapy, nutrition, speech therapy)
some durable medical equipment (wheelchairs, orthopedic aids)
• limited coverage of palliative and hospice services
Israel ensures healthcare for all by providing discounts for elderly, chronically ill, and other vulnerable populations (such as veterans) and includes a safety net on health taxes, meaning, people with lower incomes (ranging around 60% of average income or less) pay a reduced health tax rate (3% compared to 5%)
Israel built isolated COVID-19 hospitals to care for the sick, and shifted resources to compensate for the low number of ICU beds. Many measures were taken against COVID-19, during its peak in 2020 such as, school closure, movement and travel restrictions, discontinuation of nonessential work, and a national curfew during Passover and Independence Day. Local curfews were set in place in neighborhoods and cities with high COVID-19 incidence and in Muslim populations during Ramadan (Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim year, during which strict fasting occurs from sunrise to sunset).
Due to the vaccination campaign an estimated half of Israel’s 9.4 million population have already had three vaccine doses and around 850,000 people have had four vaccine doses, because of Israel’s vaccination campaign in December 2020 they were able to administer almost 11.0 doses per 100 population.

Works Cited
Rosen, Bruce et al. “Israel’S Rapid Rollout Of Vaccinations For COVID-19”. Israel Journal Of Health Policy Research, vol 10, no. 1, 2021. Springer Science And Business Media LLC, doi:10.1186/s13584-021-00440-6. Accessed 23 Nov 2022. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7454065/
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-roll-out-adapted-covid-booster-this-month-official-says-2022-09-14/
Leshem, Eyal et al. “Buying Time With COVID-19 Outbreak Response, Israel”. Emerging Infectious Diseases, vol 26, no. 9, 2020, pp. 2251-2253. Centers For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC), doi:10.3201/eid2609.201476. Accessed 23 Nov 2022. https://ijhpr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13584-021-00440-6
“Israel”. Commonwealthfund.Org, 2020, https://www.commonwealthfund.org/international-health-policy-center/countries/israel. Accessed 23 Nov 2022. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/international-health-policy-center/countries/israel

Country: Kenya
Delegate Name: Adrian Vasicek

November 23rd, 2022
Submitted to: World Health Organization
From: Kenya
Subject: Expanding Access to Medical Resources
Delegate: Adrian Vasicek
Royal Oak High School
Kenya believes that having medical resources is an important topic within the UN and also all over the world. All over the world, there are high mortality rates among children and also mothers giving birth. Having access to medical resources would significantly lower these numbers. We are thankful for not only the medical resources that we have and have been given but also the help and resources altogether. Having access to medical resources is important to be able to grow our nation and develop further than we are currently.

Expanding access to medical resources is an important issue for Kenya because we have a lack of access to healthcare across our country. Millions of children die in Kenya each year before the age of five due to a lack of medical resources. Many children if they go to a hospital won’t necessarily be admitted due to lack of space or supplies even if the child is very sick. We also have a huge maternal issue and high death rates from both mother and infant. We have put in place a free maternal healthcare system to help keep people safe, however, it would work better if we had more funding and supplies. We have also spread awareness about AIDS in Kenya to give people better access to care. AIDS is an issue in Kenya and many other African countries that we hope to one day eradicate.

Kenya is in support of expanding access to medical resources, Kenya is a country where a lot of people need better medical resources. We are aware that resources can be costly and need a lot of effort to consistently have. However, we do believe that this would be a worthwhile cause due to the fact that it is trying to improve the quality of life for people and can also save many lives.

Country: South Africa
Delegate Name: Dylan Potter

World Health Organization
Expanding access to medical resources
the Republic of South Africa
Dylan potter
Forest Hills Eastern

The world of medicine is constantly evolving. As medical advantages continue to save the lives of millions of people globally, the access to medical resources remains inaccessible to many. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates 400 million do not have access to essential health services and 6% of the population are tipped into or pushed further into extreme poverty because of Health Spending. A study conducted by Maphumulo and Bhengu found overwhelming evidence that quality of healthcare in South Africa has been compromised by many challenges that have a negative impact on healthcare quality. Improvement in quality care means less errors, decrease time it takes to get care, improvement in efficiency, increased market share and lower cost. Decline in quality health care has caused the public to lose trust in the healthcare system in South Africa.

The Republic of South Africa has created many programs to help expand access to medical resources. South Africa Medical & Education Foundation’s mission is to create an environment where quality health care and education is available to everyone. High impact projects are utilized to supply medical and education services in South Africa with resources vitally needed to enhance services already rendered to the community. The Foundation to date has funded projects in over 30 hospitals and clinics in Gauteng, KwaZulu Natal, Eastern and Western Cape. The CDC South Africa uses its scientific expertise to combine strengths with South Africa to make greater gains in health. One such program is the TB/HIV care association which funds access to screening, testing, and treatment, saving lives in South Africa. But, there is still more work to be done within South Africa and the rest of the world.

If the country had a strong primary health care network with competent well trained community health workers, it would have had a better chance of containing the spread of COVID-19 as well as linking people to care sooner so that deaths could be reduced. The Republic of South Africa has begun to fund initiatives and programs to promote access to equitable healthcare for all, but the effects of CoVid-19 have been detrimental to the healthcare system and has shown the areas needed for improvement. For example in the current response to COVID-19 how quickly people can access testing, care or even vaccination is determined by their ability to pay. This is neither just nor fair. So re propose to reduce cost of private health care.

Country: Indonesia
Delegate Name: KenZie Low

World Health Organization
Expanding Access To Medical Resources
Republic of Indonesia
KenZie Low
Forest Hills Eastern

Promoting health and well-being is crucial for human society. The UN recognizes this as they included it in their seventeen Sustainable Development Goals. SDG 3 ensures healthy lives and promotes well-being for all at all ages. Target 3.8 asks for international support to achieve universal health coverage. Universal healthcare coverage ensures that people have timely access to affordable, safe, and effective healthcare services. For these goals to be achieved, everyone must have access to basic healthcare and a safe environment where seeking help is embraced. However, the World Health Organization estimates at least 400 million people do not have access to essential health care, and 10% of medicines in low to middle-income countries are falsified. The Covid-19 pandemic also revealed major flaws in global health care. Major Covid-19 vaccine producers patented their vaccines, resulting in the suffering of many undeveloped countries. The UN proposes that “by focusing on providing more efficient funding of health systems, improved sanitation, and hygiene, and increased access to physicians, significant progress can be made in helping to save the lives of millions.” Specifically, Indonesia is striving to improve healthcare on a national level. Being the fourth most populous country and consisting of hundreds of islands, Indonesia faces unique challenges when expanding its healthcare and resources to its citizens.
Indonesia has a modest healthcare system. Nonetheless, the country’s healthcare is rapidly improving. The country strives to achieve universal healthcare and by doing so created JKN in 2014. JKN is a national public healthcare insurance scheme presumed to cover all Indonesians in the future. In 2019, the program covered 84% of the Indonesian population. If the project succeeds, Indonesia is speculated to have one of the best healthcare systems in the world. Indonesia has also built about 2,522 Puskemas (government-mandated clinics) as of 2021. These facilities provide basic healthcare. The government has also asked for private involvement. Siloam Hospitals, a medical laboratory company, operated thirty-six state-of-the-art hospitals as of 2019. In 2017, Indonesia was established as a base for vaccine manufacturing. During the Covid Pandemic, Indonesia was one of the five countries to be selected to be a recipient of mRNA vaccine technology transfer. This means a middle-income country such as Indonesia could produce mRNA vaccines. Indonesia is also looking to digitize its healthcare to collect diagnostics and make healthcare more accessible. With the rapidly growing healthcare system, however, counterfeit medicines are still commonplace in Indonesia. To combat this, in 2020, the Ministry of Health launched regulations to control online pharmacies and reduce fake medicines. Indonesia has developed well on a national level, the country also contributes to the insufficient healthcare crisis on an international scale. Indonesian Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin acknowledged that the Covid-19 pandemic revealed critical gaps in global response capability. Therefore, in June 2022, Indonesia proposed a plan for a new agency that would combat insufficient global health care. Indonesia created a Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF) along with the G20 countries to strengthen the resilience of global health frameworks. Indonesia donated about $50 million to the FIF. The new agency also aims to standardize global protocols and boost the manufacturing capacity of relevant pharmacies and medical devices globally.
Indonesian Minister of Health Sadikin urges that countries donate to the FIF to strengthen the global healthcare system. Indonesia wishes to use this funding effectively to improve pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. Indonesia also emphasizes the importance of sharing data on pathogens that have pandemic potential so the global healthcare system can better withstand pandemics. Specifically, G20 countries must unite and gather diagnostics and prevent the next pandemic. Indonesian G20 Presidency’s Health spokesperson Tarmizi encourages building collaborative networks among countries about the global health community. Additionally, Indonesia urges strengthening global health architecture by building the coordinating role of WHO as a global health institution. Indonesia is projected to have growth in its healthcare system and can begin to help the global healthcare community.

Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Delegate Name: Joel Beard

Delegate: Joel Beard
Country: DR Congo
Committee: ECOSOC
Topic: Expanding access to medical resources

The health system in the Democratic Republic of Congo is currently considered is considered to have a well functioning form of a health care system. The country is divided up into 11 provinces and each province is divided up into health districts. Each has primary systems of health care. Religious organizations also contribute heavily to the health system and have for hundreds of years. There are both state run health centers and for profit health centers that are usually accessed only by those that have money to pay them. In spite of this medical infrastructure, the country was rated poorly on its ability to fund health care to all of its citizens, not in regards to their financial ability.
Unfortunately, in some areas of the country, the medical system has mostly collapsed, and adequate health care is only available to the rich, while the poor are left to fend for themselves or travel long distances to other districts in search of health care providers. About 3% of the country’s money is spent on health care costs. Overall, access to quality health care within the country is considered to be quite poor. Only about half of the population is able to pay for the health care that they use.
The DRC has come up with a new solution to solve many of the stated issues which is to increase the DRC’s budget for setting up hospitals and decreasing the cost by making a medical insurance system which will give all citizens private healthcare. The DRC believes this solution to be good at giving citizens the opportunity to better healthcare and satisfying the needs of most people in the nation.

Country: United Kingdom
Delegate Name: Taha Ibrahim

World Health Organization
Expanding Access to Medical Resources
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Taha Ibrahim, FH Northern HS

According to the WHO, an estimated 400 million individuals all over the world are unable to access essential health services. This, along with substandard service especially in low-income nations has served as a major issue in a global society. This lack of access as well as ever-increasing costs for proper healthcare leads to a disparity among nations. This is most evident in Sub-Saharan Africa, South and Central America, and Southeast Asia. The United Kingdom, as a global leader in healthcare access, finds it imperative that access to medical services and resources be expanded to all corners of the Earth.
Actions taken by the United Kingdom domestically can be looked upon and adopted by other nations to improve their healthcare services. The first of many actions is establishing a service that provides healthcare to all citizens. For example, the United Kingdom has the National Health Service (NHS). This service provides all essential forms of healthcare to its citizens funded through general taxes. Investments in healthcare are essential to long-term sustainability in developing nations. The United Kingdom is bringing both health and social care services together to provide the most appropriate care to anyone who needs it. These improvements in healthcare assure that no eligible person has to pay more than £86,000. The system offers choice and independence to any users, a higher quality of care, and to have accessibility to anyone anytime.
The best way to expand access to proper medical care and resources is to establish a standard of quality as well as strengthen the capacity for risk reduction and management of health risks. To better improve the quality, proper development, and training of health officials in developing nations. These goals are listed under the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3). The strengthening of national health services, improvements in medical technology and facilities, and the production of necessary resources.
Despite this, many developing nations still struggle with proper healthcare services. 15% of hospital expenditures are due to mistakes in healthcare, clinical guidelines were only followed less than 45% of the time, and nations with high mortality rates lack proper maternal and childcare services. In low and middle-income nations, around 10% of income is spent on medical care. There is still more work to be done to expand medical access to nations across the globe, and the United Kingdom’s ongoing and future involvement will do all it can do to improve the standard of healthcare.

Country: Brazil
Delegate Name: Tristan Ernst-Hodys

Delegate:Tristan Ernst-Hodys
Country: Brazil
Committee: WHO ECOSOC
Access to healthcare is an extremely urgent world issue. Worldwide about 400 million people do not have adequate healthcare. This means that they are not able to be effectively medicated nor treated. The cause of limited healthcare ranges from a country’s lack of resources to individuals not being able to afford adequate care. Even in developed countries people struggle to pay for healthcare and can not get the correct medical treatment. In refugee populations the issue is even more dire. Over 25 million refugees do not have access to medical care. Very often refugees and other people die from very treatable diseases due to their lack of healthcare. This is a growing problem that needs to be curbed before it’s too late.
Despite significant funding problems, in recent decades the WHO has addressed the issue in multiple ways ranging from disease specific programs to overall efforts to strengthen health care systems based on primary health care. Many of the key advancements have occurred as a result of the treaty-making power of the UN Organization. Some recent examples include: [1] The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the first international treaty negotiated under the auspices of WHO, it was adopted in 2003, [2] International Health Regulations adopted by the World Health Assembly in 2005, [3] the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework which was adopted in 2011 and, [4] in May 2010, WHO member States adopted the Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel. Recent examples of disease specific programs include the “Millennium Development Goals” that focused on a small, directed set of diseases and targets and the “Sustainable Development Goals” with a broader scope set for 2030.
Brazil uses a universal healthcare system titled SUS (Sistema Único de Saúde). Conceived in the 1980s during a social movement aimed at re-democratization, SUS gives comprehensive healthcare to all of its citizens. Brazil also has The National Human Rights Plan which aims to curb disparities in medical care for minority or disadvantaged groups of people.It also aims to have complete equality in the Brazilian healthcare system so that no Brazilian citizen does not have healthcare. The healthcare system is also decentralized giving administrative duties to all branches of government. Beyond these National Programs, the Brazilian government signed on to WHO programs mentioned in the previous section such as the Convention on Tobacco Control and the Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel.
Thinking broader over the next half-century Brazil has the following recommendations for the United Nations and the WHO to enact to continue to make significant progress on the topic of global health care equity. [1] Urge all member states to adopt national healthcare and help those that cannot. [2] Encourage all member nations to create a special organization, similar to Brazil’s Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health, that manages policies and programs directed specifically to the health of marginalized people. [3] Member nations share and review successes and failures related to the implementation of organizational frameworks for health care coordination across the home country’s health system. This cooperation can help other countries avoid common mistakes and be more efficient in delivering coordinated health care programs both domestically and internationally. Brazil believes that by following these recommendations the world would make huge strides in expanding healthcare.

Country: Germany
Delegate Name: Sophia Conrad

Delegate: Sophia Conrad
Country: Germany
Committee: World Health Organization
Topic: Expanding Access to Healthcare

The United Nations first began seriously addressing the issue of healthcare in 2015 by establishing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 3 focuses on “good health and well-being”. It is important to provide all people with the necessary access to “essential healthcare services” without incurring a heavy financial burden. Many countries are still struggling with this goal. Myanmar, Costa Rica, Mexico and several other nations had not tracked any progress in 2021. These areas often lack hospital employees, doctors and nurses, as well as hospital beds and locations. The COVID 19 pandemic caused some digression in providing consistent healthcare, and prompted healthcare officials to realize unaddressed issues, such as lack of preparedness for pandemics and medical patents in emergencies.
The UN had made progress in this area prior to the pandemic, passing several resolutions to promote healthcare, including the Primary Healthcare and Community Health Workers resolution passed in May of 2019. The UN has also passed the Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan as well as the Strategy Update in an effort to curb the effects of the virus on the development goal. Although these initiatives have helped usher in progress, high income and OECD nations are at an obvious advantage over low-income countries.
Thus far, Germany has shown progress towards achieving this goal, and particularly succeeds in the area of universal healthcare. Germany promotes a universal healthcare system and founded the first social health insurance system in 1883. Health insurance originally covered blue collar workers, but expanded until 2007 when universal healthcare was finally achieved in the nation. Germany offers Statutory Health Insurance in addition to the Long-term Care Services guaranteed by the government. All insurance plans, regardless of sickness fund or private insurance, are funded by the same providers, allowing them to be provided for in all hospitals regardless of insurance specifics.
In order to truly achieve this Sustainable Development Goal, assistance in funding is needed from high-income nations to promote infrastructure, employment, and supply. Nations which are financially able should be encouraged to add to their national plans and agendas to further progress towards this goal and show true progress. More specific goals should also be devised to meet this goal, such as quotas for hospital beds, staff, doctors, and nurses, as well as locations in comparison to population. Germany looks forward to working with other nations, specifically those who have developed similar healthcare plans such as Australia, and Canada. By passing additional resolutions together, we can continue to make progress towards achieving this Sustainable Development Goal globally.

Country: United States of America
Delegate Name: Sreejay Ramakrishnan

World Health Organization
Expanding Access to Medical Resources
The United States of America
Sreejay Ramakrishnan

Every single person on this planet should have access to medical resources in order to survive and thrive in life. Though, with expensive healthcare, high patient costs, and a lack of programs to help with this issue, access to medical resources needs to improve worldwide. Around 400 million people worldwide lack access to essential health care, and even those that do have access or insurance suffer from the high costs, thus forcing them into poverty. According to the WHO, around 800 million people are spending at least 10% of their household incomes on healthcare for themselves or family members. Each country is impacted by this issue in different ways, which proves essential to form a common ground and tackle this issue as a United Nations. This is most dominant in low-income areas, including countries in Latin America, East Asia, and especially in South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. The WHO has taken responsibility for the International Classification of Diseases, which is the international standard for defining and reporting diseases and health conditions. Additionally, the UN has created a “Universal Health Coverage Day” to urge countries to invest in achieving affordable healthcare access worldwide. The UN also has taken part in Sustainable Development GOALS which aim to increase medical access to all and improve life. The United States does not have universal healthcare, though aims to improve healthcare access to all.

The United States has programs in place including Medicare for adults over 65 and some with disabilities, programs for veterans and low-income people including Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The Affordable Care Act has brought the uninsured rate of Americans from 16% in 2010 to around 8.5% currently. The Affordable Care Act Of 2010 required most Americans to obtain health insurance, extend coverage for Young People by allowing them to remain on parents as private plans until age 26, open health insurance marketplaces and exchanges which offer premium subsidies to lower and middle-income individuals, and expand Medicaid Eligibility with the help of federal subsidies (in states that decide to go with this option). The ACA resulted in around 20 million Americans gaining coverage for healthcare while reducing the number of uninsured adults significantly. Another essential task that the US government has taken to improve medical resources access is the regulation of private companies pharmaceutical companies and hospitals to ensure equal access. The United States has a mix of both private and public insurance and healthcare. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) works with the WHO to ensure the shaping of health research agendas, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries, and monitoring and analyzing health trends.

The United States of America hopes to work with many nations in the United Nations in order to ensure equal and abundant access to medical resources for people worldwide. U.S. government (U.S.) global health efforts aim to help improve the health of people in low- and middle-income countries while also contributing to broader U.S. global development goals, foreign policy priorities, and national security concerns. The United States is also one of the largest funders and implementing partners for global health programs worldwide. Additionally, the United States’ global health funding came to about $12.2 billion in 2022. We urge nations in the United Nations to participate and work with the United States to improve life and healthcare for everyone on our beautiful planet.

Country: Ukraine
Delegate Name: Meira Gable

World Health Organization (WHO)
Ukraine
Around 400 million people worldwide lack access to essential health care, and even for some who have access, the extremely high cost of these resources pushes them into poverty. Across the world, even in developed countries, people are struggling to pay for health care because they must pay out-of-pocket for their treatment. Further, many countries lack the resources, both medical and financial, to fix this. Additionally, in refugee populations, there is minimal access to medical resources, and with 27.1 million refugees worldwide this is a growing and urgent problem. Globally, many people are dying from easily treatable diseases because proper medical treatments are not accessible.
The UN has established many initiatives to help expand access to medical resources, including the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Partnership and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The UHC Partnership provides support to 115 countries, representing a total of around 3 billion people, by assisting in the strengthening of their national health systems. UNHCR is helping refugees all around the world facing poor health conditions by improving medical facilities, providing medical supplies, and training new health workers.
The war in Ukraine has resulted in medical resources being extremely limited and difficult to obtain. Just since February 2022, 7.2 million Ukrainians have fled the country, and 6.9 million have been internally displaced. Even before the war, Ukraine had an abnormally high rate of displacement due to conflict. Ukraine has worked with UNHCR to provide medical humanitarian relief and is part of the UHC Partnership, which has helped reform the health care system. In 2015, the Ukrainian Ministry of Health instituted some substantial changes to the national health system to help increase the efficiency, quality, and modernization. This includes decreasing out-of-pocket expenses and improving the pay of health care workers. However, due to the recent conflict, many of these reforms have not had the desired effect.
Ukraine proposes the WHO take a more unified approach to providing medical assistance to countries in situations of conflict and helping refugees gain better access to safe and cheap health care.The urgency of this cannot be expressed enough, with hundreds of people dying every day in Ukraine and across the world. In addition to this, Ukraine recommends the WHO take measures to help increase the manufacturing of medical supplies and equipment, including the licensing of vaccine formulas.

Works Cited
“Access to Healthcare.” UNHCR, UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency, https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/access-to-healthcare.html.
“Refugee Statistics.” USA for UNHCR, 2022, https://www.unrefugees.org/refugee-facts/statistics/#:~:text=By%20the%20end%20of%202021,53.2%20million%20internally%20displaced%20people.
“Ukraine Working towards Universal Health Coverage While Responding to COVID-19.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 24 Sept. 2020, https://extranet.who.int/uhcpartnership/story/ukraine-working-towards-universal-health-coverage-while-responding-covid-19.
“UNHCR – Ukraine Emergency.” UNHCR, UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency, 13 Sept. 2022, https://www.unhcr.org/ukraine-emergency.html.
“Universal Health Coverage Partnership, Who We Are.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 2021, https://extranet.who.int/uhcpartnership/about.
Yoshizu, Mamiko, et al. “World Bank and WHO: Half the World Lacks Access to Essential Health Services, 100 Million Still Pushed into Extreme Poverty Because of Health Expenses.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 13 Dec. 2017, https://www.who.int/news/item/13-12-2017-world-bank-and-who-half-the-world-lacks-access-to-essential-health-services-100-million-still-pushed-into-extreme-poverty-because-of-health-expenses.

Country: Romania
Delegate Name: Allison Edwards

United Nations World Health Organization
Expanding Access to Medical Resources
Romania
Allison Edwards, Forest Hills Northern High School

In Romania, several issues regarding access to medical resources are prevalent including the astronomical prices for care out of pocket, and the distribution of hospital locations, raising levels of concern. The co-pays for many Romanian families are often a financial burden. A report by WHO found that a multitude of families was paying upwards of 40 percent of their capacity for their healthcare on co-pays. Additionally, most hospitals in Romania are located in urban areas, while rural areas are often left without access to these essential services.
One way that Romania is combating the issue of the lack of medical resources is by funding of projects such as planting new hospitals in unreached areas. In an article by the European Investment Bank Schriever says, “These hospitals are going to re-shape the health care system in Romania in a way that hasn’t been seen in a long time, It will save a lot of lives and definitely make lives a lot easier for the elderly, families and children not having to travel over three hours for a routine check-up. At present, it’s untenable for the people in these regions.
Furthermore, a study by the WHO concluded that between the years 2010 and 2015 the incredible spending on medical care was at an all-time high. One direction that Romania is moving is the instating of new policies such as full coverage for all people and regulating health providers, to charge reasonable prices.
In conclusion, Romania’s healthcare system has put its citizens at a disadvantage through many of its actions such as their co-pays and its lack of hospitals in all areas. However, as a whole, the country has been taking essential steps to ensure the fairness and overall health of the people of their country.

Country: France
Delegate Name: Julia Callahan

World Health Organization (WHO)
Expanding Access to Medical Resources
France
Julia Callahan
East Grand Rapids

Medical care is a monopoly that discriminates against people in poverty and poor health. In recent reports from the World Bank and WHO, barely one-half of the world’s population are capable of procuring vital health services. Between 2000 and 2018, global resource spending was 10% of the world’s GDP, or US$ 8.3 trillion. 40% of healthcare costs in 2018 were paid out of pocket in low-income countries, which pushes more and more menages into poverty, creating an escapable cycle of deficit and disease. WHO accounted that 800 million people end up spending 10% of their budgets on health resources. Access to Medical Resources is uneven worldwide, affecting countries in different ways and levels. As necessary resources are provided, there is increased spending for individuals to get said resources. This problem is especially prevalent in Eastern Asia, Latin America, and European regions, while the opposite situation occurs in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, providing no access to resources. Overall, the standing issue is that providing health resources is necessary, but doing so can create impoverishment when it comes to out-of-pocket payments. Though not providing proper health resources is jeopardizing the population’s well-being.

France has a profound history of access to medical resources, achieving universal healthcare through strategic planning when accounting for varying populations. Mutual Benefit Association (MBA) already provided health care before WWII, influenced by the 1930 Act of Social Insurance requiring employees to have health coverage for illness, maternity, aging, and death. Two-thirds of France’s people had coverage for disease in 1939, thanks to the MBA. When WWII ended, France took the opportunity to renovate access to health resources, creating a new procedure for healthcare financing. Social Security Insurance expanded the coverage to first workers, employees, and retirees in 1945, self-employed in 1966, and unemployed in 2000. Social Security Insurance was made universal in 2016, incorporating immigrants merging state-sponsored health care and Universal Health Coverage.

The Director-General of WHO, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, expressed that having a problem regarding health resources is futile. Ghebreyesus states that the solution is universal health coverage which provides the necessary resources for health without financial strain. World Bank Group President Dr. Jim Yong Kim says that the problem is that countries are hesitant to invest in people and their well-being. Increasing spending agendas guided toward people will help progress toward UHC.

France believes the only way to expand access to medical resources is by incorporating universal health coverage globally. UHC promotes a people-focused strategy that eliminates the lack of resources and financial struggle. This solution is a community-based approach that focuses on providing for the greater good.

Country: Turkey
Delegate Name: Keira heathcock

We need to start expanding medical resources so less fortunate people can get the care they need. People who can’t get a lot of medical care usually just let the pain go or try healing on their own but that can lead to worse infections, illnesses, breaks, and much more that often lead to very painful surgeries/ treatment and in some cases death. If we open clinics around the country that you can go to for help free of charge this will stop from people being nervous about going and getting treatment because they know it’s affordable.

Turkey has undergone significant healthcare changes since 2003 to create easily accessible, superior, and effective healthcare services for the population. This study’s objective was to determine whether the public preferred the current health system to one that was available a decade ago by gathering the opinions of Turkish citizens on the process of reforming the country’s healthcare system.

Ever since 2003, Turkey’s government-led Health Transformation Program has improved customer satisfaction, financial protection, and health outcomes while also increasing fairness in funding distribution. We need to continue doing this so people can live longer, healthier, happier lives.

Country: Nigeria
Delegate Name: Ethan Ellis

Country: Nigeria
Committee: WHO ECOSOC
Topic: Expanding Access to Medical Resources
Delegate: Ethan Ellis
School: Williamston High School

Access to medical resources includes the ability to obtain healthcare services such as prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management of diseases and other health-impacting conditions. Many people who do not have good access to medical resources live in third-world countries. Countries such as the United States have programs to help poor people have access to healthcare. United States Medicaid is one such program. The problem is: Medicaid is poorly funded and not all healthcare providers are willing to accept its low rate of reimbursement. Limited access to healthcare could increase the risk of poor health outcomes. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), half of the world lacked access to essential health services, and 100 million were pushed into extreme poverty because of medical expenses in 2017. In low-income countries such as India and Africa, have a high mortality rate because there is low quality of care for mothers and children in primary care centers. Many primary care centers have insufficiently trained staff to address maternal and newborn complications.

According to WHO, there are wide gaps in medical resource availability in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country with 206 million people in 2020. About 40% of Nigerians live in poverty, who live in social conditions that create ill health and immense expenditures for health. Since many Nigerians are poor, they cannot pay for expensive healthcare. Around only 45% of Nigerians live in an urban setting. Only 30% of healthcare is provided by the government, and the rest is privately owned. Over 70% of the drugs dispensed are substandard. Substandard drugs are pharmaceutical products that do not meet their quality standards and specifications. Tuberculosis is a major health problem in Nigeria. 3.2 million Nigerians are living with HIV, which makes them susceptible to tuberculosis. Again, since many Nigerians are living below the poverty line, the rate of tuberculosis is at one of its highest levels. The U.S has supported Nigeria in the operation of 10 healthcare facilities. (In Nigeria) These facilities are located in multiple urban hubs, and will serve up to 25,000 patients annually.

Nigeria proposes to expand healthcare facilities to reach those in rural settings. Nigeria also will establish healthcare plans that are available to poor citizens. Broaden the access to free healthcare. Nigeria will raise awareness to diseases, and put in acts to help sanitize the country/disease prevention, and distribute drugs(as needed) that meet the standards of WHO. Nigeria’s allies are the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom. These countries either give funding to Nigeria or are close allies with Nigeria.

Country: Russian Federation
Delegate Name: Nicole Schafer

With growing populations discovering more diseases and critically harmful health issues, people worldwide need more medical resources to ensure their health. Many countries have universal health care, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and South Korea, all having different federal systems. The United States is the only one of the major “developed” countries still without a system of health care. Many countries throughout Central Africa and the Middle East though do not have universal health care either, which is concerning to those areas. It’s important that the people living in these regions receive health coverage, especially due to the antibiotic resistance dilemma previously noted.
The Russian Federation has its own internal medical coverage, but it is not the best system since many people do not receive good enough care and has offered free care since 1996. It used to be much better, but in a report, Russia was voted last out of 55 developed countries in the efficiency of their healthcare system. It is overall underfunded, spending much less than other countries on its system. 5% of Russians have private healthcare that is better in quality, but most cannot afford its higher prices and have to resort to the free, lower-quality healthcare. Newer stories describe the struggles of the system and are receiving criticism globally. Putin has said that since more funds should be put toward the special military operations, the budget for healthcare may be lowered even more, making the healthcare system even worse.
The Russian Federation has so many problems to deal with its own healthcare crisis that it is not really interested in dealing with the United Nations action against it, especially as a world power that would be asked most likely to help. The Russian Federation in fact does not really find interest in expanding even its own healthcare and is in no position to aid other countries.

Country: Philippines
Delegate Name: Riley Gailey

Country: Philippines
Committee: ECOSOC
Topic: Expanding Access to Medical Resources
Delegate: Riley Gailey
School: Williamston High School

As nations have begun to industrialize, access to medical resources has become stratified by the wealth of a nation. Today, ½ the world lacks access to essential medical services and 800 million people that do have access, spend at least 10% of their annual income on health care costs (WHO). Every nation is struggling to provide access to equal healthcare in the poorer sectors of their state. In lower income nations, 10% of their medicine is falsified or substandard, lacking adequate effectiveness of the limited medicine available. By reducing competition in the healthcare industry, costs of medical expenses will go down, making resources more affordable/available to all nations, specifically lower income nations struggling to provide a wide distribution of health care services to its citizens.
The Philippines has recently implemented their Universal Health Care Act (UHC). The law works to make sure every citizen has access to the same care under the guidelines provided by the government. The problem with this policy is that there are not enough resources available to provide these medical services to all citizens, specifically those in more rural and remote areas of the nation that are harder to reach. Along with a lack of resources, medical technology in this lower income, developing country, is severely outdated. This makes the act wildly ineffective in providing adequate healthcare. Due to the more concentrated care of citizens living in urban centers, rural areas are experiencing increased poverty levels as compared to citizens based in larger cities. The Philippines lacks the resources to fully expand and fulfill the promise made in their Universal Care Act, although the act was recently amended during the pandemic to include covid care.
If more countries in the UN begin to adopt universal healthcare, this will decrease the financial burden of medical expenses for their poor, improving economic stability. The Philippines wishes to promote government investment into mobile care sites that would reach the non-urban and more remote areas of the country. This ensures that medical staff are not stretched thin in individual care centers. Telemedicine would also provide less expensive options for spreading health services. This not only reduces strain from government spending and doctors, but also the cost that these rural citizens normally face in travel expenses alone. In nations where universal healthcare is already available, the Philippines encourages adjustments of these policies to include COVID-19 care. As previously mentioned, reduced competition among healthcare will make universal health care not only more accessible to the public but also more easily available for middle and low income nations to take part in. This would include calling on certain nations to reduce the costs of some drugs such as insulin. The Philippines hopes to collaborate with Southeast Asian countries and those nations leading us in medicine, including the US, France, Canada, and Great Britain.

Country: Colombia
Delegate Name: Izzy Sheppard

Country: Republic of Colombia
Committee: WHO
Topic: Expanding access to medical resources
Delegate: Izzy Sheppard
School: Williamston High School

Access to safe medicine has been an unfortunate problem plaguing the human race for many years. However, it has become increasingly poor in the past few decades as globalized manufacturing and distribution of said medicines becomes ever more complex, increasing the chances of errors in production, and creating potential subpar medicines. Over 10% of all medicines in developing nations are falsified or subpar medicines. This problem also increases as the growing demand for medicine increases worldwide, with the addition of poor supply management and being able to purchase medicine online creating more opportunities for falsified medicines to find their way into people’s homes and harm those who take and use sub-par and falsified medicines. There is also the issue of patents for Novel medicines and whether they should be restricted by patents or should be available for universal manufacture. This problem was evident in the access to the COVID-19 vaccine was halted in developing nations due to patent-related issues. Access to safe medical resources is a growing problem in our modern world and we need to ensure that all peoples of all nations have the necessary access to safe medical resources.

Colombia has had challenges in the past in access to safe medical resources. In recent years Colombia has been tackling this problem very well, in the early 2000s the Colombia National Institute for the Supervision of Medications & Food(INVIMA) has taken down at least 38 illegal laboratories producing fake medicine. Colombia has also had a problem with expired medicines being brought into Colombia from nations like Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela and being repackaged and sold with different expiration dates. This is a major problem in part because Colombia’s punishments for possession of illegal narcotics are much heavier than the punishments for possession of falsified medicines, so it’s easier and less risky to sell and produce illegal medicines than to produce and sell illegal narcotics. Now comes the topic of issues of the production of vaccines and patents in Colombia. Colombia has its own set of medical laws which have recently been changed due to the statutory health law, which in summary states that healthcare is fundamental for all Colombians and hospitals can’t refuse treatment if there are no health insurance papers. To add, in the past few years Colombia overturned a patent on cancer treatment because it was too expensive, and this decision saved Colombia Millions of dollars.

In the future, Colombia would be interested in increasing laws on the Manufacture, Distribution, and Possession of falsified drugs to further reduce the number of falsified medicines flowing in and out of the country. Colombia would also like to talk with other countries, such as Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela to decrease the amount of expired, falsified, and sub-par medicines illegally crossing into other countries, perhaps by having a better and stronger border patrol. Colombia would also be interested in more discussions with other countries worldwide about the issue of patents relating to medical states of emergencies (ie. A Pandemic, An Epidemic).

Country: Guatemala
Delegate Name: Isabella Feenstra

World Health Organization
Expanding Access to Medical Resources
Republic of Guatemala
Isabella Feenstra
Forest Hills Eastern

In developing countries, access to medical resources is harrowing. To strive to meet these countries’ needs, the United Nations adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals aim to eliminate poverty, hunger, disease, and discrimination by meticulously developing each country’s social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Specifically, SDG number 3’s objective is to improve health and well-being, and point 3.8 encourages countries to grant access to affordable, effective, and reliable healthcare services through universal health coverage. An estimated 400 million people do not have access to essential healthcare services due to a lack of resources or affordability. Additionally, 10% of middle to low-income countries’ medications are found to be substandard or falsified. Unfortunately, the recent outbreak of COVID-19 has negatively impacted the progress of the United Nations Development Programme in countless countries. 92% of countries’ essential healthcare systems have been disrupted, 22.7 million children did not possess crucial vaccines as of 2020, and COVID-19 halted universal healthcare coverage efforts. The formidable threat, the lack of access to medical resources, is urgent.
The Republic of Guatemala’s topography presents significant obstacles to Guatemalans’ acquisition of medical resources. Rural land is predominant in Guatemala at 43%, as opposed to the coastline and urban developments. The majority of the population resides in the rugged mountainous region and is indigenous (50%). Yet these remote rural areas have little or no access to medical facilities. Tragically, indigenous groups are harshly afflicted by various socioeconomic disadvantages, including a lower life expectancy than non-indigenous Guatemalans (13 years), childhood growth stunting 50% more than non-indigenous, and four times the maternal mortality rates. Furthermore, many face dire situations of poverty, malnutrition, and discrimination. Due to these factors, many indigenous Guatemalans mistrust the health systems in Guatemala and opt to perform traditional remedies in the case of an outbreak like COVID-19. 80% of all accounted doctors reside in Guatemala City alone, leaving despairing prospects for medical help in agricultural areas. Alas, conditions in urban areas do not fare much better, as the poverty rate in Guatemala is 59.3%. Many cannot afford to consult doctors; instead, they purchase prescription drugs at corner stores. Doing so increases the risk of falsified medications due to no labels on the products.
The Republic of Guatemala urges the United Nations to consider assisting with the channels in which Guatemalan healthcare is distributed. Guatemala proposes using remote medical units such as drones to provide remote indigenous populations with crucial medical care. As Guatemala possesses the acute mannerism of SDG’s purposes, we wish to help provide an example of the United Nations relief efforts and their advantageous effects on our population. The Republic of Guatemala encourages all member nations to develop a healthcare system that is accessible and affordable.

Country: Spain
Delegate Name: Nikhil Talla

World Health Organization
Expanding Access to Medical Resources
The Kingdom of Spain
Nikhil Talla
Forest Hills Eastern

The World Health Organization (WHO) strives for everyone to have quality, essential healthcare services and access to safe, quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines. Substandard and falsified medical products can cause harm to patients and fail to treat diseases. They decrease confidence in pharmaceuticals, healthcare providers, and health systems. The distribution of substandard and falsified medical products has increased antimicrobial resistance and drug-resistant infections. According to the WHO, 1 in 10 medical products in low-income and middle-income countries is either falsified or substandard. In addition, 400 million people do not have access to essential health services. The public healthcare system in Spain covers a range of healthcare systems, including general medicine, family practice, pediatrics, nursing, physical therapy, and more.

According to Helvetia insurance, The Kingdom of Spain spends around 10% of its annual GDP on healthcare (approximately 2,000€ per resident annually). About 90% of all Spanish citizens use the public healthcare system. Spanish citizens and residents can access private and public healthcare. About 20% of citizens use private healthcare because budget cuts have led to less access to their preferred professionals and long wait times for treatments and appointments. The contamination of substandard medications in Spain is limited; however, there have been cases of contamination of products in Spain. Spain believes that, in a pandemic, pharmaceutical companies should be flexible in granting voluntary licenses. Allowing medical product manufacturing to be free from restrictions by patents provides equality. A working paper developed by Spain presented to the European Union states, “Unequal access to vaccines between developed and developing countries is not only at the core of a feeling of injustice, but also poses a health risk for the world.” Spain also proposed a platform to monitor global vaccine manufacturing sites and match idle production capacity with demand. The paper also suggests that airlines work with international organizations to contribute more to vaccine distribution.

Spain encourages the WHO to suggest countries advance education on tactics to spot counterfeit and substandard medicines. For example, counterfeit medicine often contains spelling mistakes in the packaging. Prescribers should consider having prescribed substandard medical products: if a patient fails to respond to treatment, if several patients who have received the same batch of a particular drug fail to respond to treatment, or if an unusual adverse drug reaction occurs. For medicines administered by parents and not medical experts, odd appearances or smells should raise suspicion that the medication may be contaminated. In the face of a pandemic, manufacturing restrictions on the production of medical products should be lifted, providing equal and increased access to these health resources. Spain is open to solutions addressing the growing abundance of falsified and substandard medical products, and Spain is willing to work with other countries to find these solutions.

Country: Egypt
Delegate Name: KenZen Low

Healthcare in Egypt is going well overall with the population living and thriving policies used for healthcare like how to use medicine. This topic is essential to how we can help healthcare in Egypt and globally with these barriers. Healthcare in general is quite pricy and sometimes their equipment isn’t good. The United Nations have to take action is how to make healthcare more affordable for other countries.

Egypt says there should be universal healthcare that is fundamental to others instead of making it super expensive. Recently, organizations like Health Insurance Organizations (HIO) and Curative Care Organizations (CCO) for the healthcare system. The government regulates healthcare in Egypt so sometimes, there are rules for healthcare in Egypt. Supports insurance rates and how to make it more affordable yet have better quality public healthcare. Egyptians seek private healthcare if it is affordable, and the united nations and health organizations help expand public healthcare and make it more affordable. For healthcare problems, Egypt reaches out to Organizations and helps out people in need with any type of healthcare public or private. With the law of Universal Health Coverage, healthcare should be more affordable to citizens anywhere including Egypt. The progression is the same as Egypt commits to this law and follows it for everyone who needs healthcare and has it. Egypt shows that healthcare could be more affordable. From the united nations, healthcare should be more affordable.

Healthcare should be more affordable because it will have a huge impact on the lives who need healthcare. Egypt’s law of universal health coverage makes it more affordable for the citizens who live there. Healthcare is very impactful to living citizens around the world. Follow the law of Universal Health Coverage for a better impact on lives.

Position Papers for GLIMUN 2022 will appear above this line, with the newest being at the top.