It may seem trite to say that health “is all-encompassing”. Definitions from the World Health Organization (WHO) confirm this: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”, it is “… a fundamental human right and a global social objective”, and “… a resource of daily life, not the goal of life. It is a positive concept, emphasizing the importance of social and personal resources as well as physical capabilities”. In this concept, the health status of individuals and populations depends not only on medical or personal factors, but also on cultural, social, economic and environmental factors such as: financial resources, employment, education, social support, nutrition, land use, the list goes on. Aristotle, looking for the right location for a city over 2,300 years ago, was already highlighting this type of concern when he declared that, “nothing is more important for health than that which is of daily and continual use, such as air and water” (Politics).

To this end, to improve the health of populations, it is not enough to act on individuals to adopt healthy lifestyles. All sectors of society must collaborate in a sustainable way on the factors that determine the socio-economic and physical environment of individuals and, ultimately, on the major orientations that shape society.

Yet this holistic approach to health, seemingly easy to share, does not yet seem to be widely fertilizing practices in developing countries. The great advances in health care achieved over the last few decades, and the socio-economic gains that have flowed from them, are under threat. Economic growth is being held back by lower labor productivity. What’s more, we’re all more exposed to epidemic outbreaks, which can spread rapidly in an interconnected world. The healthcare sector accounts for 11% of global GDP.

Effective and equitable financing of universal health coverage is essential for inclusive growth. For former World Bank Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, “The beginning of the solution lies in budgetary decisions made by the countries themselves. Finance ministers must understand that investment in their citizens is essential to ensure the growth and prosperity of an economy that will increasingly value workers with high-level cognitive skills”. And according to American Hans Guy. A, “a healthier workforce is a more competitive and productive workforce”. In the light of all the above, ICEDAC USA is convinced that “a healthy population is the engine of a strong economy”, and believes that developing countries do not spend enough on the health of their citizens, a problem that lies not only in the lack of money, but also in the wastefulness or inefficiency of their health spending.

By 2030, the shortfall in funding to provide affordable, quality healthcare services will reach $176 billion a year in the world’s 54 poorest countries, compounded by the challenges of an ageing population and the rise in chronic non-communicable diseases.

Together, these factors are likely to cause healthcare costs to spiral upwards, further increasing the burden on the poor, and precipitating disastrous health and economic setbacks in the decades to come.

It is therefore in the interests of the whole world to guard against these economic threats by ensuring the health and well-being of all, if we are to eradicate poverty, contribute to economic growth and ensure the prosperity of communities. Moreover, health is an inalienable human right under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In fact, when people are healthy, they can realize their full potential, children are better able to learn, workers are more productive, and parents take better care of their children.

As health is a key indicator of a country’s progress, since a country with a healthy population is more likely to enjoy sustained growth, health is also essential to the stability of entire regions, since pandemics that transcend borders can have major social and economic repercussions on families and communities, With this in mind, the International Organization ICEDAC USA has set itself the goal of providing technical assistance and financial support to States in general, and developing countries in particular, in structuring and implementing their national public health policies, through initiatives such as :

Building “ICEDAC MEDIDAL MEWS” clinics to American standards in all regions/provinces where ICEDAC USA has a permanent office;

Helping governments optimize the way their public revenues are managed, by proposing strategies that have proved their worth, and that enable them to “get what they pay for”. For example, improving primary care and community health services will particularly benefit vulnerable people in remote regions/provinces;
Suggest taxing tobacco, alcohol and sugar-sweetened beverages to increase revenues while improving the general health of the population in each country;
Propose investments in efficient health systems at national level to generate positive spin-offs for donors, notably by limiting the spread of infectious diseases;
Propose innovations in healthcare investments, to ensure that healthcare does not plunge more people into extreme poverty… This list is non-exhaustive.

Considerable progress has been made in global health over the last few decades, but the resulting benefits are not distributed equitably between and within countries. More than six million children die every year, and almost 300,000 women die during pregnancy or childbirth when, in many cases, these deaths could have been avoided. This is the “WHY” behind our mission.

Working with developing countries in particular and its development partners, ICEDAC USA helps strengthen health systems to ensure that the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach people, especially women and children, receive essential services and medicines, and benefit from interventions. ICEDAC USA’s approach also includes training front-line community health workers and other key stakeholders, such as midwives. Partnerships are a key element of ICEDAC USA’s approach. Collaborating with other international organizations and civil society in each of ICEDAC USA’s partner states enables vital vaccines, nutritional supplements and other medicines and products to be delivered more effectively and efficiently. As a result, communities have the means to prevent and treat major diseases, including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia, malnutrition and undernutrition, and other major causes of mortality and morbidity. This is the “HOW” of our mission.