Global Economy the Constant Gardener" Essay

But merely ensuring access to pharmaceuticals for a particular disease is not enough. Access to appropriate preventative healthcare is essential, so, for example, individuals do not merely use antibiotic drugs for a short while, and then discontinue them because they are feeling better. Clinics can also provide birth control, given vaccinations and teach community residents how to practice more sanitary methods of food preparation to stem the spread of other infectious aliments. To improve access to preventative care will require major funding and a major international effort. However, everyone will benefit if these initiatives are taken -- a more economically and politically stable Africa will help the entire world's geopolitical stability, and will ensure that a more costly effort of military as opposed to humanitarian aid will not be necessary in the future. To stabilize Europe after World War II, America instituted the Marshall Plan, with the argument that a stable world is a safer world.This is also true of Africa, where the health consequences of rampant HIV and other infectious diseases hamper economic growth -- Africa needs its own Marshall Plan, in terms of healthcare.

Perhaps the only argument 'against' such an initiative is that the United States has such crying social needs of its own in terms of healthcare, it cannot afford major expenditures to improve equal access to healthcare for citizens in other countries. The great expense of such efforts is one reason that joint, international efforts are superior to unilateral action. To truly make a difference, the U.S. needs to engage in meaningful international efforts. Only through a global effort can the United States and other nations fulfill their stated humanitarian aims regarding social justice......