Rethinking Public Health as a Social Good
The New Normal is here with us, it’s going to be with us for a very long-time until the threats of COVID-19 become minimal to the global village. The application of public health in managing this pandemic has come back to citizens’ responsibility, and engagement.
It’s now humbling knowledge that access to quality health care can no longer be a prerogative for the rich, superpower, privileged, entitled, it’s back to the basics of collective public health where “WE together we achieve a healthy US”. It’s now government responsibility much as it’s a citizen’s responsibility collectively create Good Health for ALL.
Life is teaching us that perhaps capitalism has lost relevancy as a model of development as far as Good health for ALL is concerned. Health as a universal and social good cannot be left in the hands of capitalism. This model is increasingly threatened by its own monster-head of profit maximization, tax generation, human greed, corruption, non-prioritization, donor funding which has become increasingly naked in our country costing us lives that would have been saved, impacting fear and uncertainty within the citizens.
The blatant unscrupulous lessons in this pandemic should act as building blocks for the current and future management of public health as a social good, equity in accessing fundamental human rights, equality distribution of social goods, if not another pandemic or natural disaster will equalize us once again.
Public health must be prioritized as a social good and investment for the good of all. It’s not a favor when governments build a robust health system not all. For when we are healthy, so are our freedoms and liberties which this pandemic has taken away for example our freedoms of association, freedom of work, liberties of movement, freedom of expression, social security, social justice, vibrant economy among others.
Baguma Allen
