Preventing a global health care systems collapse through low-tech medicine

PASTHuman life expectancy, which had been stagnant at around 30-40 years for approximately 300 000 years, surged over the past two centuries.Today, it averages 73 years worldwide and exceeds 80 in countries within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).The remarkable progress in health has been driven by interconnected factors dependent on concerted efforts from the medical, public, and economic sectors.This has manifested in socioeconomic advancements (improved living standards, education, and economic conditions), public health initiatives (implementation of sanitation measures; food and water safety regulations; and the establishment of organised healthcare systems, health insurance, and institutions like the World Health Organization (WHO)), and medical innovations (developments in pharmaceuticals, especially vaccines and antibiotics; technological advancements such as X-rays, MRI, and surgical devices; and enhancements in the education of healthcare professionals and medical research, facilitating the rapid dissemination and adoption of new medical practices).Overall, these factors have largely been enabled by the rapid economic expansion following the Industrial Revolution, which in turn resulted from a fast increase in energy use [1], particularly fossil fuels, as well as other non-renewable resources. PRESENTIn 1972, Meadows et al. [2] demonstrated through computerised modelling that endless economic expansion in a resource-limited world was unsustainable, foreseeing a potential collapse by the mid-21st century.Until today, their model has accurately predicted the trajectory of societies.