Infrastructure Development Strategies in Health Sector for Sustainable Development

Introduction

In recent years, the emergence of the COVID-19 crisis exposed the issue of dilapidated and outdated health infrastructure which generated the interest of media, researchers, scholars, health practitioners, and policymakers in the health sector (Bozorgmehr et al., 2022). The need for robust infrastructure is a global concern although poor health infrastructure dominates a plethora of developing countries as compared to developed countries. With this in mind, it is deemed necessary to express that well-planned and managed infrastructure is at the heart of the creation of a conducive environment for the delivery of excellent health services in developing countries. More interestingly, the development of high-quality health infrastructure can retain skilled human resources like nurses and doctors. This can go a long way in providing the necessary health products and services. With the sustainable operation of facilities in mind, the elements of infrastructure like medical equipment, buildings, roads, and support services are a necessity. The construction of state-of-the-art medical infrastructure and its maintenance is of paramount importance to universal health coverage in both developed and developing countries. It is within this context that the World Health Organisation (2023) documented that massive investments in safe, environmentally friendly, agile, and clean health infrastructure play an instrumental role when it comes to the attainment of universal health coverage, promotion of social and economic development, and restoration of trust in public health services.

In the current Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) era, it is an open secret that it is very difficult to achieve the SDGs without robust health infrastructure. In fact, investment in health infrastructure allows countries to have healthy people which can significantly contribute to sustainable development. Specifically, SDG 3 states that “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”. Cognisant of the essence of SDG 3, good health and well-being are strategic issues captured in the national agenda of many countries (Eckermann, 2018; Fernandez, 2020). This implies that SDG 3 is at the center of universal health coverage. Therefore, a deeper understanding of SDG 3 is necessary within the context of infrastructure development whereby strategic health issues are considered of utmost importance (Sundewall & Forsberg, 2020). Nonetheless, Makarenko et al., (2021) underscored that not much investment is being channelled to the achievement of SDG 3.

With updated health infrastructure, it is not cumbersome to ensure robust health systems and respond to changes in technology (World Health Organisation, 2023). The health shocks related to epidemics, pandemics, and climate-related hazards justify the urgent need for strategic plans that capture the infrastructure development in the health sector. It is really hard to achieve the universal health coverage goal with updated infrastructure. As such, it is of utmost importance to heavily invest in infrastructure development. Given that many African countries are struggling to pay back international debts, the government officials are facing financial challenges when it comes to investment in infrastructure development. Accordingly, it is evident that many health facilities are associated with limited water supply, poor hygiene and sanitation infrastructure, and limited energy supply as well as dilapidated buildings (World Health Organisation, 2023). To make matters worse, the technological infrastructure in many developing countries is below standard despite the fact that we are living in a digital era.