It is no secret that some countries offer better healthcare than others. Some have socialized medicine, some have public and private medicine and some have Universal care. Because healthcare is such an important resource, many countries have poured a great amount of funding, engineering and research behind their healthcare system. Those countries that prioritize healthcare, often do have the best health systems. Other times, it is more affluent nations that have the ability to provide advanced care for its citizens. Either way, it is clear that there are countries with superior care options than others. But how do we measure this? Are all countries being judged fairly?

A study conducted by Siemens in January of 2015 thought that by measuring the quality and accessibility of healthcare facilities in different countries, we could better define what ‘good’ healthcare actually means. In one graph, they measured the number of hospital beds per 1000 people. This aimed to see which countries have invested in helping and providing access to the greatest number of people.

And then they showed a chart of the countries with the most access to improved sanitation. By this, they intend to show the correlation between countries that have the resources to create improved sanitation technology, and those that have the wherewithal to provide superior medical access and facilities to its people.

These two figures show that we cannot view healthcare in a vacuum. It is obvious that the wealthier countries have the better healthcare systems- at face value. But we cannot judge a developing country against an economic superpower country because their resources are not equal. This is why, many developing countries do not get the aid that they need to advance because they are discriminated against. They are viewed as less than, and thus makes it harder for them to improve. It is sad that, as a global community, we are so focused on ‘being the best’ instead of helping those in need. It is important to remember for people that live in countries with superior healthcare to remember that there is more we can do to help developing countries give their people the care that they need.