Medical Tourism in Developing Countries

Inequalities in Health Care ● 173Economic Development Leads to Improvements in Health CareIt seems counterintuitive that economic progress can have a negative effecton basic health, yet it is a possibility. As a result of increased industrialization,there have been more illnesses related to environment and occupationalhealth hazards. New kinds of employment lead to lifestyle changes,often resulting in physical inactivity. Consumption patterns change aspeople use tobacco and eat processed foods. These diet and lifestyle changesresult in the growing burden of noncommunicable diseases (diabetes, highblood pressure, high cholesterol, and cancer). With increased urbanization,epidemics spread more easily in densely populated areas. Globalization hasresulted in the easy spread of disease as transborder activities increase, leadingmicrobiologist Stanley Falkow to say, “The greatest threat to US securityis not bio-terrorism but a global health crisis from a new or existing pathogen.”11 With increased contact through tourism and migration, alien diseasesare transmitted to populations that have no immunity.The negative effects of development on health are magnified in LDCswhere tropical diseases unknown in the West are coupled with food insecurity,low life expectancy, and the lack of basic needs satisfaction. Withincreased income in developing countries there has been a spread ofWestern eating habits. Increased consumption of sugar has resulted in risesin diabetes and obesity. 12 In contrast to the West, developing countries areexperiencing a steady increase in tobacco usage with its resulting healthramifications. 13 In terms of basic health care, Africa seems to have the worstconditions. These are described by Pearce: “The African industrial workeris exposed to both the types of industrial disorders prevalent among westernworkers as well as the communicable and nutritional diseases common innon-western societies.” 14Despite these negative effects of development on health, no one is arguingin favor of rolling back economic progress. This is because the positive effectson health undoubtedly outweigh the negative ones. Economic developmentimplies increased income, which translates into more tax revenue for thepublic sector to deal with public health. An important factor in basic publichealth is infrastructure, especially as it pertains to sewage, water supply, andgeneral sanitation. One of the reasons why health and development are positivelyrelated is that many diseases are transmitted through contaminatedwater or food (such as hepatitis, typhus, diarrhea). Others are airborne(diphtheria, smallpox, whooping cough, measles, and meningitis), carried byanimals (malaria and sleeping sickness), or are parasitic diseases (variouskinds of worms). Some of these require medicines to control, but manyrequire basic attention on the part of the population. To have a population