Health care technology for developing countries

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has set a goal for the year 2000 which is 'health for all'. However a question has arisen concerning the appropriateness of health care technology for developing countries. This paper looks at health care technology not simply as medical equipment and drugs, but as a multidisciplinary approach including disease management, information technology and medical engineering. Poverty is often a contributing factor for disease reoccurrence in poor economic countries. For such disease hazards to be controlled, health risk assessment and disease management is needed through a programme of identification, evaluation, prediction and prevention. Some examples of current health management from Egypt, Ghana, and a project on Control of Cardiovascular Disease in Developing Countries are used to illustrate how diseases are mismanaged in these countries. Information technology plays a major role in every field of modern development and is an essential tool in health care. It has been identified that there is a widening gap between scientific research conducted in developing and industrialised countries. A range of problems can hinder the development of medical engineering, such as bureaucracy, management issues (planning, selecting, purchasing and maintenance), outdated equipment and conflict with cultural values. Solutions have been identified to improve health care technology in developing countries and are discussed in this paper. To achieve the goal of 'health for all' the international community needs to support, coordinate and financially assist a long-term programme of sustainable health care.