Living without healthcare
March 23rd, 2010 by Maid Marian
Posted in: Around the world, Why we need Robin
Healthcare and contraception are taken for granted by people in rich countries. A Robin Hood Tax could help ensure that everyone is able to make choices about their life and have access to basic health services.
Village chief Angkuksai and his wife Nam Mom come from Phnom Kok village in the Ratanakiri province in Cambodia. They have three children and do not want to increase their family, but they have no access to condoms or family planning services.
Family planning and the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV are major issues in Ratanakiri, mainly because of a lack of access to health services. There is no health post in Angkuksai or Nam Mom’s village, or any of the four neighbouring villages.
Nam Mom, delivered all of their children at home with the village traditional birth attendant. She did not want to go to the nearest health centre as it was several hours’ walk away and unfamiliar.
When asked what his wish list was for the village, Angkuksai said:
“ I would like a new health post within walking distance from my village and from the four other villages nearby – nothing else”.
One second of the Robin Hood Tax could provide six years’ worth of condoms for this village and the surrounding villages.
Two seconds of the Robin Hood Tax could provide training and support of a midwife for one year.
Three seconds of the Robin Hood Tax could provide training of health volunteers and local officials for one year.
- More than a third of the world’s population – around 2.4 billion people – currently has no access to a basic health facility.
- An extra $27 billion per year is needed to deliver basic health services in middle- and low-income countries according to the World Health Organisation. This is equivalent to international donors multiplying their health spending by five.
- That figure is estimated to rise to $38 billion by 2015.
- In some developing countries, governments devote as little as US$10 per person to health annually, less than a third of the $34 recommended by the World Health Organisation.
The Robin Hood Tax could raise enough money to provide basic health services for 100,000 people in just 1 minute and 43 seconds
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