It is interesting to note that there have been no responses to Katie Foxall's August 14 posting.
https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/what-happens-when-hospital-low-resource...
To be sure, there are so many interesting postings to which I should have replied.
That would require at least one hour every day ... something my schedule, and I daresay that of others, does not permit.
But still, I am amazed to see many very important postings go unanswered.
With some 20,000 members, one would think that all postings would receive some acknowledgment.
The lack of cancer related medications and cancer care in general is a huge issue in low resource landscapes.
But, what are public health systems (and private ones as well) to do when there is such massive underfunding, lack of knowledge and corruption?
Those of us who have lived and worked in LMICs are well aware of the conundrum.
But it is not only cancer care. Pediatrics, pregnancy, childbirth & newborn health, dermatology, neurosurgery, cervical cancer, diabetes, hypertension etc etc have the exact same problems.
My mantra has always been that the war against the pathologies of power (thank you Dr. Paul Farmer) is one with many battles ... some won ... some lost. When I started my medical career in the mid 1970's, I thought all the inequalities & inequities in medicine would be resolved as society evolved.
How wrong I was.
So I have no answer as to how to remedy the situation in Malawi or anywhere else. Those of us involved in global health must just continue to be aware of the challenges and strive to make a difference whenever & wherever one can.
Thank you Ms. Foxall for sharing with us.
My one hour is up.
Mickey Rostoker
HIFA profile: Mickey Rostoker, MD, FCFP, is Associate Clinical Professor, Family Practice, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, and Assistant Professor, Family Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Regina, Canada. He is a HIFA Country Representative: http://www.hifa.org/people/country-representatives
http://www.hifa.org/support/members/mickey
mrostoker AT gmail.com
