GT Writing Task 2 (Essay Writing) Sample # 31
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Present a written argument or case to an educated reader with no specialist knowledge of the following topic.
“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 preventative measures.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
You should write at least 250 words.
You should use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and relevant evidence.
Model Answer 1: [Agree]
The proverbial saying “Prevention is better than cure” emphasizes the significance of proactive measures in maintaining good health. I agree that a substantial portion of a country’s health budget should be allocated to health education and preventative measures rather than solely focusing on treatment. This approach can lead to numerous benefits for individuals and society as a whole.
Health education plays a pivotal role in equipping individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to make informed decisions about their well-being. By allocating a significant proportion of the health budget to health education programmes, countries can empower their citizens to adopt healthy lifestyles, understand potential health risks, and take preventive measures accordingly. For example, investing in educational campaigns that promote healthy eating habits and regular exercise can help prevent conditions such as obesity and diabetes, reducing the burden on healthcare systems and improving overall public health.
Preventative measures, such as immunizations, screenings, and early detection programmes, are instrumental in identifying health risks at an early stage and preventing the development of severe illnesses. Allocating resources to these initiatives can save lives and reduce healthcare costs in the long run. For instance, implementing widespread vaccination programs can effectively eradicate infectious diseases, preventing outbreaks and the need for extensive treatment.
In conclusion, I strongly support the idea of diverting a substantial portion of a country’s health budget towards health education and preventative measures. By prioritizing these proactive approaches, individuals can be empowered to make informed decisions about their health, leading to healthier lifestyles and reduced healthcare burdens. Furthermore, preventative measures can significantly reduce the incidence and severity of diseases, resulting in improved overall public health outcomes.
Model Answer 2: [Agree]
Countries around the world, except for a few first-world countries, are struggling to cope with the soaring costs of medicines and treatments. But, I think that things would have been different if they had emphasized more on health education and preventive measures instead of actually spending so much on “medicines and treatment”. So, I wholeheartedly agree with the statement that a big proportion of the national budget should be diverted from medical treatment to health education and preventative actions.
First, a couple of centuries ago, Cholera was thought to be caused by breathing “miasmas”, and treatment was given to dilute the odours associated with the disease. But, once it was found that some microscopic creatures were actually the main “culprits” which had caused this, along with the other diseases, treatments changed, and sanitation became the chief means of disease prevention. In fact, some health experts today even go on to suggest that our health owes more to “the idea of proper sanitation” than to all the cures developed before or since!
Secondly, and very interestingly, for most diseases, and for all non-infectious diseases, the word “cured” is simply not defined. Besides, there is no scientific or medical test or cure for any non-infectious disease. There is also no test or cure for any so-called “self-resolving” diseases like the common cold, influenza, or measles. Many medical dictionaries do not even contain a definition for the word “cure”! And, I won’t even go to dig into the “fallacy” of the anti-biotic cure because anti-biotics do basically nothing but allow the living microbes to develop a “resistance” to one antibiotic after another. So, our lifestyle and knowledge related to health do a more prominent work and that’s where our national budget should be spent to get actual results.
To conclude, it is fair to suggest that prevention is far better than cure if we want to use our health budget wisely and have a healthy nation.
Model Answer 3: [Disagree]
Inadequate health education and lack of preventive measures cause unexpected deaths each day across the world while a large percentage of the world population does not get proper treatment. So I do not think that the government should reduce the current treatment budget for prevention measures. That money ought to be diverted from sectors like weaponry and defence.
Many people are bereft of basic knowledge about many fairly common health issues, like cardiovascular diseases, for instance. Most of these diseases can be dramatically decreased if more people are made reasonably knowledgeable about them through disseminating information and public health education programmes. Many countries have already got tangible results from this approach. Besides, many countries have dramatically harnessed the transmission of COVID-19 because they live-streamed campaigns to provide information on how to contain the transmission of the virus and prompt citizens to maintain social distancing, wash hands frequently with soap and avoid large crowds to reduce chances of catching the virus.
However, although I am steadfast in favour of allocating the budget to preventive measures, I do not think that the current treatment should be suffered severe budget cuts. The usual treatment that patients are currently having, is of profound importance. The government ought to slash money from elsewhere. At these unpredictable times, the government still spends a huge amount of money on fatal weapons. If they reduce the minute amount of budget from this sector and divert it into the health budget – both for preventative measures and to treat ill people, it can bring favourable results. In consequence, this would reduce the number of patients substantially, which in turn, along with preventive measures, ameliorate the health of our nation as a whole.
To recapitulate, millions of people die every year around the world due to ignorance of preventable illnesses. The government ought to allow a considerable amount of budget for this, but the budget should be allocated from other sectors like weapon production and national defence.
Sample Answer 4: [Agree]
Many avian flu viruses cause outbreaks worldwide causing havoc at least once in a few decades. This is why many people opine that the health budget should be restructured by diverting a considerable amount of money from treatment to health education and preventive actions, which I also accord with because precautionary measures and proper education could have been sufficient to restrict or even prevent many such diseases.
Hundreds of thousands of people are in the grip of the deadly diseases, like COVID-19, for example, which condemn its victims to a terrible condition. With the spreading of the outbreak, the death toll soars dramatically mile after mile. Terror, isolation, and claustrophobia haunt as people are forced into quarantine. If countries had more health budgets for educating people and taking careful measures, the pandemic could have been restrained in its origin. On top of that, more healthcare research budget could have been a good way to come out with a proper vaccine sooner. Therefore, there is sufficient justification for channelling more funds into public healthcare education and research programmes.
Besides, the uncertain prognosis and treatment demonstrate that the necessity of preventive measures and health education is decisive. In simple words, the clinical spectrum, new diagnostic approach, the necessary information on the transmission mechanism, and the prevention and therapeutic blueprint are yet to develop. But interestingly enough, evidence points to the fact that a healthy lifestyle such as washing hands frequently with soap, having healthy food, social behaviours, regular exercise, and so on, can limit the transmission of the viruses. So, these findings should be disseminated across the world. Thus, health education and preventive measures deserve more money than treatment.
In fine, communicable diseases are spreading like wildfire throughout the earth. So it is sensible enough to conclude that world governments ought to spend more money on preventive measures and public health awareness compared to the treatment budget.
“Cope up with” does not exist in English. The phrase is “cope with.”