From the outset, the pandemic thrust health care systems into unprecedented circumstances. Hospitals were quickly overwhelmed, with a deluge of patients requiring intensive care. Medical professionals faced shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators, and critical supplies, forcing many to work under extreme pressure and in dangerous conditions. The rapid spread of the virus highlighted pre-existing weaknesses in health care infrastructure and disparities in access to quality care, particularly in low-income communities and developing countries.