Ike S O
Department of Medicine, University Of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku Ozalla, Enugu, Nigeria.
Niger J Med. 2009 Oct-Dec;18(4):360-4. doi: 10.4314/njm.v18i4.51225.
The impact of the global economic meltdown on every sector of economic activity has been enormous, especially in the developing countries. Medical practice in these nations has been particularly challenged and stretched under this milieu. This paper thus sets out to evaluate the phenomenon of economic meltdown with its effects on the developing countries, the challenges it poses to medical practice, with Nigeria as a case study, and makes suggestions to address this scenario.
A review of the literature on economic meltdown with particular emphasis on the effect on medical practice, was done, with focus on the developing countries, and specifically Nigeria. Literature search was conducted using the Medline, Google search engine, the media, as well as national and localjournals.
The definition and historical perspectives of global economic meltdown, as well as the geographical location of the developing countries, are set out. The peculiar economic challenges and those in the medical practice, with the concomitant glaring effects in the developing nations, with particular reference to the Nigerian situation, are outlined. Specific measures to adopt in addressing these challenges are suggested in this paper.
The peculiar challenges of the global economic meltdown on medical practice in the developing world, and in Nigeria particularly, must be addressed wholisticaly involving every sector of the economy, with fundamental policy and structural changes put in place.
全球经济衰退对经济活动的各个领域都产生了巨大影响，尤其是在发展中国家。在这种环境下，这些国家的医疗行业面临着特别大的挑战，压力重重。因此，本文旨在评估经济衰退这一现象及其对发展中国家的影响、它给医疗行业带来的挑战，并以尼日利亚为例进行研究，同时提出应对这一情况的建议。
对有关经济衰退的文献进行综述，特别强调其对医疗行业的影响，重点关注发展中国家，尤其是尼日利亚。通过使用医学在线数据库、谷歌搜索引擎、媒体以及国家和地方期刊进行文献检索。
阐述了全球经济衰退的定义和历史背景，以及发展中国家的地理位置。概述了发展中国家特有的经济挑战以及医疗行业面临的挑战，以及随之而来的显著影响，特别提及了尼日利亚的情况。本文还提出了应对这些挑战应采取的具体措施。
必须全面应对全球经济衰退给发展中国家尤其是尼日利亚医疗行业带来的特殊挑战，这需要经济的各个部门参与其中，并实施根本性的政策和结构变革。
