NAIROBI, Dec. 14, (Xinhua/GNA) — Hefty medical expenses are pushing over 150 million people in Africa into poverty, denying them quality and productive lives, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.
Out-of-pocket payments continue to place a heavy financial burden on over 200 million people in the continent, the WHO said in a report, titled “Towards Universal Health Coverage in the WHO Africa Region: Tracking Financial Protection.” The report was launched Thursday, on the occasion of Universal Health Coverage Day.
Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, said that paying for essential drugs and other healthcare costs out of their own pockets, is worsening financial hardship and poor health outcomes for the continent’s vulnerable citizens. “Such payments force many people to spend less on other basic needs such as food, housing and utilities, which in turn may worsen their conditions,” Moeti said.
The report, which analyzed the period between 2000 and 2019, said the number of people on the continent spending over 10 percent of their household budget on medicines and other healthcare costs, rose annually by 2.5 million people, from 52 million in 2000 to 95 million in 2019.
According to the report, half of all people impoverished by astronomical health expenses globally live in Africa, with rural households and those headed by older persons bearing the brunt, but in countries where government expenditure on health was relatively high, as a share of gross domestic product (GDP), impoverishment linked to out-of-pocket healthcare costs was averted.
The report warned that out-of-pocket spending may force African citizens to reduce their expenditure on basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter, further eroding their health outcomes. “The need for out-of-pocket health spending might lead to forgoing care because it is a direct barrier to access for some people. These barriers affect people’s ability to access diagnosis and treatment and to complete treatment successfully,” the report said.
It noted that several African countries have adopted robust policy and legislative frameworks to tackle the burden of out-of-pocket health spending, like abolishing patients’ fees at the point of care, mass rollout of health insurance schemes, and increasing reliance on state-funded health services.
GNA