New Report Shows That Universal Healthcare Is Both Beneficial and Possible

The state of our health will lay the fundamental foundations upon which the rest of our life is built. This is well demonstrated by Maslow’s theory of human hierarchy of needs. This theory describes five universal human needs that drive human behaviour. They are arranged in a hierarchy based on our instinctual prioritisation of needs and displayed using a pyramid structure. At the foundation of the pyramid are considered our most basic and essential needs for survival, with healthcare being among them. Only once our most basic needs are met can we pursue higher goals in life to enable us to reach our full potential.

Under this theory, healthcare is a human necessity for development and progress to occur. It has been shown that while most people would agree with this in theory, practically it can be more challenging as healthcare is seen to be an expense and can appear unaffordable. It was previously considered to be a “social overhead” by economists at the World Bank. However, a new report shows that universal healthcare can be possible, even in low-income countries. And it can, in fact, be viewed more appropriately as a “social investment” that can actually speed up growth.