Establishing a sustainable healthcare environment in low- and middle-income countries

The dynamics of disease prevalence and healthcare systems continue to change dramatically in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This is a result of multiple factors including the demands of an ageing population in the context of increasing life expectancy and the rise of non-communicable diseases putting an additional burden on an already weak healthcare system. Further healthcare deficiency is attributable to additional factors such as low financial budgets, political conflicts and civil war, as well as continuing burden of communicable diseases, which are known to be the major risk to health in LMICs. Surgical needs largely remain unmet despite a Lancet report published in 2015. Various deficient aspects of healthcare systems need to be addressed immediately to provide any hope of creating a sustainable healthcare environment in the coming decades. These include developing strong primary and secondary care structures as well as strengthening tertiary care hospitals with an adequately trained healthcare workforce. The facilities required to improve patients' access to healthcare cannot be developed and sustained solely within the local budget allocation and require major input from international organizations such as the World Bank and the World Health Organization as well as a chain of donor networks. To create and retain a local healthcare workforce, improved training and living conditions and greater financial security need to be provided. Finally, healthcare economics need to be addressed with financial models that can provide insurance and security to the underprivileged population to achieve universal health coverage, which remains the goal of several global organizations promoting equity in high-standard healthcare provision.