"Prevention is better than cure" Out of a country's health budget, a large proportion should be diverted from treatment to spending on health education and preventive measures. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

According to

the World Health Organization, health is physical, mental and social well-being. I agree with the given statement that prevention is better than cure to a full extent because I believe that even though someone is cured of a disease, the damage done to the mental status can not be reversed. In

this

essay, I will discuss the reasons behind my statement. In third-world countries like Sri Lanka, non-communicable diseases are very common. Diseases

such

as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and heart problems can be easily prevented only from a healthy diet.

However

,

due to

unawareness of that, many people are suffering from these disorders. The sad reality is once you get ill with these, you have to take medication for the rest of your life which will cost you millions since it is uncurable.

Moreover

, in Sri Lanka, oral carcinoma is the most prevalent cancer among males. But 99% of cases have started

due to

betel chewing and tobacco consumption. Since betel quid has a cultural value people think it is safe to use. If the community is aware of the fact that it is harmful, I believe incidents will be reduced. And the truth is even though patients have undergone surgery, there is a high chance of recurrences. To treat these conditions, the government has to spend billions of dollars on theatres, well-trained staff, equipment, and medicines and there is still no guarantee that it will definitely be cured. Though it is curable, being ill is a waste of time.

Thus

, from my perspective, it is better to allocate that money to awareness programs.

To conclude

, allocating money for the public’s knowledge about illnesses and how to prevent them will save the country money and will help the community to live a quality life.