Health promotion: The International Monetary Fund - Essay Example

"Health promotion: The International Monetary Fund" is a worthy example of a paper on the health system.
The International Monetary Fund is a worldwide financial organization of one hundred and eighty-four member nations that is one of the Bretton Woods Institutions and is part of the United Nations system. The International Monetary Fund was created to further international monetary cooperation, substitute stability, and orderly exchange planning to provide short-term financial help to nations to help alleviate balance of payment adjustment and encourage high levels of employment and economic growth. The International Monetary Fund makes loans to its member nations when they require a balance of payment help and also avails its resources for specified activities and periods (Stiglitz, 2002). 

There are venerable concerns with the International Monetary Fund in connection to the promotion of public health. The organization places spending restrictions, regulating the amount that a country can use on public sector wages. In its effort to wean nations of the external funds, the organization has frequently advocated for decreased government health spending to evade untenable growth in the health sector (Woods, 2006). While the International Monetary Fund does not directly stipulate cuts in health spending, administrations are frequently left with little option but to decrease public sector spending in health to meet the targets set by the International Monetary Fund. For numerous emerging economies, which have already adopted several International Monetary Fund policies, qualification for funds will depend on existing rules instead of needed future changes (Rowden, 2009). This has a negative impact on health promotion in these countries. Also, the organization’s assessment used to direct loan conditions does not sufficiently consider the short-term economic gains of promoting health.

Criticism of the International Monetary Fund

In my view, the International Monetary Fund gives restricted help to emerging economies, but there is extremely minimal financing for the most underprivileged nations to make sure there is an adequate promotion of health activities. In addition, the International Monetary Fund may be seen to be out of touch with local environments, cultures, and economic situations in the countries that need policy reforms on the health sector. Also, the International Monetary Fund knows extremely minimal about what nations spend on programs, for example, education and health promotion, particularly in African nations. This is because they do not have a feel for the effect that their projected national budget will have on its citizens (Sachs, 2005). The financial advice the International Monetary Fund offers might not at all times take into account the difference between how spending is felt by people or what it means on paper, thus negatively impacting health promotion efforts.

In addition, the impact of the organization’s policies may appear anti-developmental. The negative effects of International Monetary Fund programs rapidly lead to a decrease in employment and output in countries where unemployment is high and incomes low. Therefore, the burden of health promotion activities will be solely borne by the underprivileged population (Isard, 2005).

Recommendation

The International Monetary Fund can involve the gains of health programs in economic predictions. This will help in ceasing from indirectly restricting public sector health spending, and write off the presumption that assistance will be temporary.