When it comes to measuring success, the Himalayan nation of Bhutan doesn’t look to its gross domestic product or how many luxury goods their citizens own.
Instead, the country measures through their yardstick of GNH: Gross National Happiness.
The index has become part of Bhutanese life and health is recognized as an important component. Toward this, the small country (landlocked between China and India) is actively looking for ways to further improve the well-being of its people, including the creation of a partnership with the Yale School of Public Health, said NimaWangchuk, a visiting scholar at Yale this semester from the Royal Institute of Health Sciences under the Royal University of Bhutan.
During a lecture Monday, Wangchuk said Bhutan could benefit from Yale’s public health expertise and he spoke of establishing formal exchange programs between his country and the school and joint public health research projects. He also said Bhutan would be a good place for M.P.H. students to do their summer internships (on topics as diverse as the connection between health and religion to HIV/AIDS) and also for Ph.D. students to conduct research.
“We welcome each and every one of you,” he said. “We will be there to help you in every way possible.”
Wangchuk outlined impressive strides in health care that Bhutan has achieved in a relatively short time span. The vast majority of the population receives immunizations, leprosy has almost been eliminated and polio has been eradicated, the last case being reported in 1986. The average life expectancy, meanwhile, has climbed from 49 years in 1984 to more than 66 years today.
These successes have been possible, in part, because the country has made the health of its citizens a national priority. There are stringent tobacco-control measures in place (even for foreign visitors); free access to basic health services is enshrined in the nation’s constitution; and there is even a national number (similar to 911 in the United States) that people can call for information and help about their health. For people who are seriously ill, the government funds free medical treatment abroad (usually in India).
Still, the country faces a number of serious challenges. Alcohol is a problem and there is a shortage of health care workers, particularly in the country’s remote and rugged interior. Bhutan is also grappling with a few hundred cases of AIDS and poverty in the largely rural nation is also pervasive.
The public health infrastructure in Bhutan is still being built and much remains to be done. Wangchuk said that Yale’s input could be invaluable in this process. “You are very good at public health.”