Band 7+: It is more important to spend public money on promoting a healthy lifestyle in order to prevent illness than to spend it on treatment of people who are already ill. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Some people have proposed that a higher proportion of the national budget should be allocated to support those in need at hospitals. However, I believe healthy lifestyle promotion programs must be prioritised considering their perennial impact on society.

On the one hand, governmental support is critical to the recovery of patients whose treatment costs exceed their financial capacity. For example, the medical treatment process for a cancer patient includes numerous costly procedures, starting with the conduct of diagnostic tests, the use of prescribed medications, and ending with interpretation of the results and counselling. In Vietnam, the total sum of these medical and non-medical expenses can total over $50,000, which is unaffordable for the majority of Vietnamese working families. Therefore, to ensure proper treatment, the Vietnamese government must provide monetary support to these patients through insurance schemes or the Red Cross organisation.

On the other hand, health promotion and disease prevention initiatives can produce greater long-term social impact. Many of these initiatives, such as those executed by the WHO in Cambodia, have successfully provided locals with essential health information related to nutrition, along with the hygienic and cardiovascular benefits of regular exercise. As the number of Cambodians who adopt healthy diets and preventive measures against diseases are on the rise, the rates for hospitalisation have witnessed a remarkable drop in recent years. Cambodia has, therefore, reduced financial demand for the construction of hospitals and clinics, allocating a greater proportion of a stretched budget to other critical sectors such as education and social equality.

In conclusion, although some patients might benefit from governmental financial aid, I opine that programs which promote a healthier lifestyle are of greater importance to society as a whole. In my opinion, governments should promulgate laws that require the participation and involvement of all political bodies to support these programs.