Access to

Medicine

How it All Started

We are group of sophomores from
the Global Studies Program at Austin
High School
This January, we travelled to Costa
Rica for five days and stayed with a
native tribe. It was there we met the
Medicine Man for their tribe, and
heard him speak.

 So we became interested, in how the

Medicine Man helped his tribe, and
how this compared to other ways of
medical treatment.
From this, we formed our question:
How does access to medicine vary
across the world?
From HERE
To HERE
Made a very big
difference in the
access to
medicine

There are many factors about why someone may

not be able to receive medical attention.
Lack of Insurance
Recourses Available
Technology Available
High Costs
Etc
"Some of the reasons that people die from diseases
likeAIDS, TB, sleeping sickness and other tropical
diseasesare that life-saving, essential medicines are
either too expensive, [or] are not available because
they are not seen as financially viable - Dr James
Orbinski, President of MSFs International Council,accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999.

"As a person living with HIV/ AIDS, the

most fearful thing is whenyou hear you
might not be able to get hold of your
medicines.It feels like a rope is being tied
around your neck."
-Charles Sako, Kenya

"I know how important the vaccines are

for my babies to behealthy, but I was
unable to travel the long distance to
hospitalfor my twins to get their further
vaccinations."
-Aquil Bol Mallien, Sudan

Medical Technology
Technology such as MRIs, Radiotherapy and Mammographs
are very important in modern medicine for diagnosing and
treating patients.
MRI- used for disease detection, to confirm diagnosis, show
head trauma/ tumor/ inflammation of brain or spine
Radiotherapy- treats cancers or tumors
Mammograph- to check for breast cancer
Clearly not having access to this and other kinds of vital
equipment can make treating illnesses very difficult if not
impossible. Diseases and cancers are able to go unnoticed
and untreated. Because of this, countries that dont have
access to this equipment are at a disadvantage.

Medical technology isnt available

everywhere.
300

250

200

MRI

150

Radiotherapy
Mammograph

100

50

0
Afghanistan

Belize

Canada

Costa Rica

Cuba

Ecuador

Iraq

Japan

Kenya

Total density of medical equipment per million in 2010 in

different countries

Measles killedover 500,000 children

in 2003, more than any other vaccinepreventable disease. The measles death
toll in Africa is so high every minute
one child dies that many mothers don't
give children real names until they have
survived the disease (Unicef).
Pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, measles,
HIV/AIDS and malnutrition are the
primary killers of children in the
developing world. These children die
because they are poor, they do not

Global and Even Closer

Medicinal access is a problem
everywhere around the world for
different reasons. Even in the
United States, often families and
individuals cannot receive medical
attention. This problem of access to
medicine is close to home.

Wyoming
Wisconsin
West Virginia
Washington
Virginaia
Vermont
Utah
Texas
Tennessee
South Dakota
South Carolina
Rhode Island
Pennsylvania
Oregon
Oklahoma
Ohio
North Dakota
North Carolina
New York
New Mexico
New Jersey
New Hampshire
Nevada
Nebraska
Montana
Missouri
Mississippi
Minnesota
Michigan
Massachusetts
Maryland
Maine
Lousiana
Kentucky
Kansas
Iowa
Indiana
Illinois
Idaho
Hawaii
Georgia
Florida
District of Columbia
Delaware
Connecticut
Colorado
California
Arkansas
Arizona
Alaska
Alabama
0%

LookTexas
is the
highest
percent

5%

10%

15%

20%

% of
Uninsur
ed in
the US

25%

30%

Texas
Texas is ranked NUMBER ONE for the most
uninsured adults and children in the United States.
The impact?
Those who are uninsured are 4x less likely to
regularly visit a health clinic, and die from health
related problems (TexMed).
If an accident was to occur and injure someone that
didnt have medical insurance, the cost of any
procedure or medicine could be impossible to
afford.
In 2010, 23% of people in Austin were uninsured.

Casa Esperanza
We chose to take action to help solve
this problem of access to medical care.
We visited Casa Esperanza, a house for
those who need to leave their home
for some reason. It helps these
individuals access services such as
medical or legal care.

This home is a way for people to

access medical care they normally
wouldnt be able to receive.
Casa
Esperanza is
a real home.
It can house
around
thirty-five
people, and
provides
professionals
to help these
people get
the recourses
and attention
they need.

AGS Care
We set up a donation drive at OHenry
Middle School.
There, we collected items such as soaps,
towels, feminine products, baby formula,
diapers, bottles, and any other medicinelike supplies we were legally allowed to
collect.
We gathered bags full of these items which
we took and donated to Casa Esperanza.

The supplies we collected

went straight to the families
in need at Casa Esperanza.

Well awesome!
What perfect stuff.
Thanks guys! Wow
this is great. Patti
McCabe, director of

We did our part to help this organization

and contribute to its residents. Any action
to help solve this inequality of medicinal
access is a step closer to every human
having equal access to health.

HealthGAP is a program that aims to

eliminate barriers to global access to
affordable life-sustaining medicines for
people living with HIV/AIDS (HealthGAP).

HealthGAP
A simple donation to HealthGAP brings us
one step closer to bringing every person the
medical attention they deserve. Money and
location should not have a factor in a
persons health.

Visit healthgap.org/donate to learn more

about their project and to help change this
global crisis.

Sources
"Medical Equipment: Total Density per Million Population."Global Health Observatory
Data Repository. World Health Organization, 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

"MRI: Get the Facts and Risks of Magnetic Resonance Imaging."MedicineNet. N.p., 31
Jan. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.

"Radiotherapy."NHS Choices. NHS Choices, 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

"Medicines Shouldn't Be a Luxury."MSF Access Campaign. Mdecins Sans Frontires,

n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

"About Health GAP."Health Global Access Project. Health Global Access Project Inc,
n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

"Immunization."UNICEF. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

"Health Insurance Coverage of the TotalPopulation."Health Insurance Coverage of

the Total Population. Kraiser Family Foundation, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
"Road Map of North America and North American Countries Road Maps."Road Map of
North America and North American Countries Road Maps. Elizon Regional Maps, n.d.
Web. 24 Apr. 2014.