Few people realize major financial and social toll of the large scale humanitarian crises that we gawk at daily on our televisions or smart phones.  We do not fully understand the generational trauma being inflicted by needless skirmishes, years of infrastructural and financial deprivation and the escalation of petty domestic conflicts that rob businesses and communities of vigor.

And while the USA has not had a major war or skirmish on US soil in over 100 years, the 3.3 trillion dollars U.S. healthcare industry still grapples with servicing one of the sickest population in the world, according to the Commonwealth Fund.  It has one of the highest infant mortality rates among rich nations and it is estimated 10 to 30 percent of its healthcare spending is wasteful.

And while the USA has not had a major war or skirmish on US soil in over 100 years, the 3.3 trillion dollars U.S. healthcare industry still grapples with servicing one of the sickest population in the world,

While Americans tend to live stressed lives (despite the absence of war or prolonged terrorism and unrest) according to research, Americans are also one of the most studied subjects by its medical and science industries.  This gives us a greater window into the socioeconomic stresses that bend the culture. But what of the long term effects of invasions, “peacekeeping” missions, prolonged acute poverty, life under prolonged infrastructural collapse?  Do these factors have significant social, psychological effects on denizens.

A recent report from the Indigo Wellness Index shows that the sickest country in the world is actually South Africa.  This is understandable, the country’s history of apartheid has never been faced head on to solve the incredible psychological, physical and socioeconomic toll it took on its indigenous people.  Prolonged stress and trauma has frightening consequences, as it can lead to depression, high blood pressure, anxiety and other maladies.   Recent scholarship has discovered that trauma can be passed down generationally from mother to daughter and father to son; so that the trauma is trapped in the DNA for kith and kin to experience without the direct first assault.

A recent report from the Indigo Wellness Index shows that the sickest country in the world is actually South Africa.  This is understandable, the country’s history of apartheid has never been faced head on to solve the incredible psychological, physical and socioeconomic toll it took on its indigenous people.

Such transmissions can pose major financial issues for the health care industries of nations over time.  Even a look at the prolonged protests which seem to have erupted into irrational violence in Hong Kong does not seem characteristic of the cultural and social practices of its citizens.  We are left wondering what will be the toll for the average citizen?  Or even in developing economies in Africa, Southeast Asia and South America, what is the financial cost when citizens cannot get adequate healthcare at home?  Or where citizens must travel abroad to seek adequate health services? These hidden costs take tolls on cultural norms and social values which strain the nation.

It becomes clear that the health of citizens are key.  Sicker citizens have a real impact on society and business, reducing productivity, increasing healthcare costs and so much more.  Nations across the globe must learn the best methods to keep their populations productive and strong across time.  It is worth the investment.