I had a conversation with a high school friend about healthcare. We discussed the bias that exists of those of color in underserved areas. What would you do if you became ill and did not have quality insurance or money to be seen? What would you do if you had to make a decision if you were ill to go to work or go see a doctor? For those living in underserved areas this is reality, he/she can’t afford to be sick, can’t afford to miss a day/week of work, and yes can’t afford to pay for medication because the cost is high.

Key facts

• Over 55% of the world’s population live in urban areas and this is set to rise to 68% by 2050.
• Almost 40% of urban dwellers have no access to safely managed sanitation services and many lack access to adequate drinking water.
• An estimated 91% of people in urban areas breathe polluted air.
• Poorly designed urban transport systems create a range of threats including road traffic injuries, air and noise pollution and barriers to safe physical activity – all leading to higher levels of noncommunicable disease and injuries.
• Continued urbanization is expected to lead to cities becoming epicenters of disease transmission, including vector-borne diseases.
• Health inequities in urban areas
• While urbanization can bring health and economic benefits, rapid and unplanned urbanization can have many negative social and environmental health impacts, which hit the poorest and most vulnerable the hardest. Health inequities are perhaps most stark in urban areas, sometimes varying from street to street. Migrants and other disadvantaged groups tend to be clustered in the most deprived and environmentally degraded neighborhoods with the fewest mobility, work and educational opportunities, the poorest access to health services and below average health outcomes.
• WHO response
• Urban health is a growing priority for WHO and the scale of the challenges to urban health means that approaches to deal with them must be strategic, multisectoral and coordinated. WHO addresses urban health in multiple cross-cutting ways, focusing on better air quality, water and sanitation and other environmental determinants; healthy urban planning; healthier and smoke-free environments; safe and healthy mobility; prevention of violence and injuries; healthy food systems and diets; environmental management of vector-borne diseases; emergency preparedness and responses in urban settings. Addressing risks and needs of specific population groups, such as children and older people and migrants, is also a priority. The interlinked nature of urban health challenges means that action in one sector can have benefits for many other sectors.
• To these underserved communities Healthcare is a LUXURY, one can’t live with it, and one can’t live without it. So, what do we do as a society? This question is and has always been a factor and personally I have not seen a clear strategy of fixing this problem, I thought healthcare was a right not just for a select few, but for all. I have been in the ER numerous times and have seen how those who do not have insurance is treated, these individuals receive the basic of care just enough to get them up and get them out.
• I ponder each and every day about those who have not, can you imagine those who live on the streets who suffer from chronic illness, those live in underserved areas who go to work each and every day, but can’t afford to go to the doctor.
• Healthcare is a LUXURY in this day and time, when it should be a RIGHT regardless of a person’s socioeconomic status.