The British National Health System is the world’s largest publicly-funded health care system. And while it’s free, it’s still controversial.

Prerna Suri of Al Jazeera English reports how patients walk for miles to reach hospitals, some of which serve over 35,000 people.

Teresa Bo of Worldfocus partner Al Jazeera English travelled to Port-au-Prince to see how expecting mothers are coping.

For more on humanitarian conditions in Haiti, see our extended coverage page on Haiti’s Poor.

Health care in China comes at a fraction of the cost compared to the U.S., writes Peter Eisner.

Here’s an antidote to the delirium pills that some in the U.S. health care industry want us to swallow during the universal health care debate. The fact is that many countries think that good health care is a right, not a privilege; as a result people don’t have to mortgage their lives when they get sick.

The latest case I’ve come across is a report from a close friend who just back from the central Chinese city of Wuhan — population at least 6 million, 650 miles west of Beijing.

She woke up one day with a painful case of shingles, a nerve disease produced by the chicken pox virus that can lie dormant in the body for years. By the second day, it was clear that she needed to see a doctor. But she had no idea of how the Chinese medical system works, and doesn’t speak Mandarin.

First, she telephoned a doctor in the United States, who confirmed that she did in fact require treatment right away.

Then, with the help of a translator, she went to an outpatient clinic at Wuhan University Hospital. She was examined, diagnosed and treated in less than one hour. She had feared primitive conditions and scant supplies, but encountered an efficient, patient-friendly system. She saw both a dermatologist and an ophthalmologist who worked in a well-organized setting, including computer tracking of each patient. The doctors confirmed the diagnosis of shingles, and they set out a regimen of treatment.

After that, she was straight off to the billing window — the visit with the two doctors totaled 8 Yuan, little more than $1. And then another quick stop at the pharmacy, where she filled four prescriptions. The bill: 136 Yuan, about $17.

She called home to tell a doctor about her treatment; the physician was impressed, and said the medicines prescribed were well chosen, including the latest anti-viral product.

Two weeks later, the medicine was doing the job and she improved every day, still on the road. For those who complain about discussing medical care in a Communist country, the next stop was Japan, where my friend also had quick, efficient and reasonably-priced checkups.

Her husband concludes, “We can learn from our less-developed Asian counterpart and the more modern Japanese system. The care we experienced randomly was quite professional, effective, expedient, endorsed by the U.S. medical personnel we consulted, and inexplicably inexpensive.”

Case closed.

- Peter Eisner

Photo courtesy of Flickr user televiseus under a Creative Commons license.

No one benefits more than the poor, and physicians are given incentives and paid up to three times more to work in the poorest areas of Brazil.

As a result, infant mortality is down and life expectancy is up, but there are drawbacks. Offering so much has put a strain on the health system. Most of Brazil’s hospitals are considered substandard, with long waits for procedures.

Worldfocus correspondent Edie Magnus and producer Megan Thomspon report from Brazil on the highs and lows of universal health care.

A hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

An outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo has put neighboring countries on alert.

At least 12 have died so far in the country’s fourth Ebola outbreak since 1976. The highly infectious disease, for which there is no known cure, kills approximately 80 percent of those infected.

Angola has closed parts of its border with the Congo in an effort to prevent the spread of the disease, and Ugandan immigration officials have been asked to closely monitor people crossing the border.

Uganda experienced an outbreak of Ebola last year. During that period, bloggers and doctors Scott and Jennifer Myhre in Bundibugyo wrote about losing a friend, Dr. Jonah Kule, to Ebola, and about hospital protocol with possibly-infected patients.

The “Ebola in DRC” blog, written by members of Doctors Without Borders, provided a firsthand account of an Ebola outbreak in Congo last year, including efforts to disinfect villages and contain the disease by contacting families of victims.

Blogger “Woody,” a humanitarian worker in Congo, discusses the current outbreak, writing that even more Congolese die as a result of extreme poverty and lack of basic healthcare.

American blogger “Thomas” writes that the outbreak would not have occurred had the international community acted to end the conflict in Congo long ago.

Blogger “Greg Laden” writes about recent scientific discoveries that he hopes could lead to the development of a treatment for Ebola.

View an interactive map of disease hotspots in DR Congo and elsewhere in Africa here.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user cyclopsr under a Creative Commons license.

AUDIO: Dele Olojede, a Nigerian journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner and former foreign editor of Newsday, joins Martin Savidge from Lagos, Nigeria, to discuss Robert Mugabe’s situation, the role of other African nations in Zimbabwe and the country’s future.

The cholera crisis in Zimbabwe prompted President Robert Mugabe to give his own assessment of the outbreak, claiming there was ”no cholera.” 

The United Nations reports more than 16,000 cases of cholera and almost 800 deaths.

Mugabe also launched a counterattack against world leaders and those who say he should resign or be removed. 

Read more about the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe and calls for Mugabe to step down in our previous Blogwatches.

Hospitals receive some help from volunteer organizations like Doctors Without Borders that provide medical staff, but low salaries and long hours deter many Ugandan doctors from service.

Worldfocus special correspondent Martin Seemungal travels to a small hospital in northern Uganda where patients come by the hundreds and wait for hours to receive treatment from a handful of dedicated caregivers.

Below, bloggers write from Uganda about their experiences on the ground.

Blogger “Arie” describes walking through a crowded Ugandan hospital, writing that the “Western nightmare stereotypes about hospitals here just aren’t true” and the facility is sanitary, despite poor resources and overcrowding.

Blogger “Helen” of the University of North Carolina Health Care program reports on her meeting with Ugandan Minister of Health Stephen Mallinga, in which they discussed the country’s struggles to address the health needs of rural areas.

A blogger at “Just in Uganda” writes that shortages of tuberculosis medication and anti-malarial drugs are disappointing in a country that has made such gains and modernized.

American doctors Scott and Jennifer Myhre write from rural Bundibugyo, Uganda, to remember their friend, Doctor Jonah Kule, who died a year ago during an outbreak of Ebola.

AUDIO: Manuel Lopez, head of a Doctors Without Borders mission in Zimbabwe, joins Martin Savidge from Harare to discuss the spread of the disease, Zimbabwe’s health sector and efforts to end the epidemic.

The situation in Zimbabwe continues to collapse, and international aid workers are struggling to provide even the most basic medical care to tens of thousands of people.

At least 775 have now died due to the country’s outbreak of cholera, and another 16,141 are infected. Some have sought treatment in neighboring countries, and the disease has spread to South Africa.

Read more about the cholera epidemic and political strife in Zimbabwe in our previous Blogwatches.

Correspondent Edie Magnus and producer Bryan Myers travel to two neighborhoods — La Boca and Palermo — to sample Argentinians’ thoughts on media, infrastructure, healthcare and justice systems in their country and in America.