Fátima Taboada López
Intern
The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union stipulates that “everyone has the right to preventive health and health care benefit”. Nevertheless, that is not true even in developed countries, Greece being an example of that as well.
In Greece, 27 percent of the population has no health insurance and the weakest ones in this situation are women and children. For instance, a birth in a Greek state hospital costs 650 euro, an amount that is difficult to earn these days. Children have no free access to vaccination and it is an important requirement for them to attend school. The increased cases of AIDS, tuberculosis, depression, suicide, child mortality and a long etcetera are the causes for the reduction in hospital budgets. In Greece, there is not primary health care anymore, just another step towards privatization of the health care system.
The Doctors of the World organization demanded today in Athens a European health care system that allows access to medical care to everyone, without any discrimination. The meeting was organized by Doctors of the World in Greece to draw attention to the critical situation in the country. The focus was on Greece and Spain, the two European countries with the worst health care systems at present.
In Spain, the situation is not much better than in Greece. The 7,000 million euro cut in the health sector in 2012 has led to the exclusion of immigrants from health care and to the introduction of health copayment. According to Álvaro González, president of Doctors of the World in Spain, several studies have proven that there is no economic benefit in implementing these measures. Even in the short to medium term there is an increase in the number of patients in the emergency department. So, is it cheaper to take care of a patient before or during illness? One of the most important achievements of several doctors and medical associations, including MdM, has been the suspension of the privatization of the health care system in the community of Madrid. There is a concern that the Spanish system is becoming like the Greek one.
However, there are problems even in richer countries. In Germany, for instance, there is a very good health care system but there are people who do not have access to health care, namely immigrants. The fear of being revealed if they go to a doctor makes them avoid visiting a hospital. In addition, the growing problem in this country is related to European immigrants, many of whom do not have health insurance. However, the president of Doctors of the World in Germany Jochen Zenker said that the situation in Greece is worse and they are carrying out awareness campaigns among the Germans.
After the conference, all the presidents of Doctors of the World met in Monastiraki square to demonstrate their solidarity with the destitute populations living in Greece. Health is not a luxury, it is a right.