Britain is to give £20 million to the Carter Center to contribute to the eradication of Guinea Worm, a parasitic infection which causes deblitating symptoms.
The parasite, which is contracted by drinking water contaminated with the worms larvae, infected 1,797 people in 2010, all of them in Africa.
Now, assuming cases stay fairly constant over the 4 year period, and basing on the DFID's assertion that there were 1,797 cases worldwide in 2010, we arrive at 7,188 cases over 4 years. Of course, assuming reducing Guinea Worm is successful there would be far less, but we'll use that as a starting point.
With £20 million of your money going in the kitty, that's us stumping up about £2,782 per case.
Is it a horrid disease? Undoubtedly, although rarely fatal it does cause pain and can leave people bed-ridden for months at a time. Certainly sounds unpleasant, and wouldn't wish it on anyone.
However, with our own NHS crumbling - we're seeing many reports of rationing by stealth in a bid to save money - and just today we see a case in York where GP's at a practice in York have written to patients needing minor surgery telling them that the NHS will no longer fund the ops, it's go private or make do, we surely have better things to spend our money on combatting a largely non fatal disease in Africa.
Harsh as it may sound, where is the sense in cutting back our medical facilities at home - and many suspect that more and more 'minor' ailments will end up added to the list of things it's pay to go private or put up with - due to lack of money, yet stumping up a fortune to improve health abroad.
£20 million may be a drop in the ocean compared to the £20 billion in cost cutting being forced on the NHS, but £20 million could still pay for a lot of operations needed by those living in Britain.
How many of those operations - for ailments which may be considered minor, but quite possibly are not so to the poor person suffering from them - which cost a few hundred pounds but are now not to be funded by the NHS in some areas could have been treated with that £20 million?
