For Freedom from Poverty, Universal Health Coverage Is a Must
Nearly one million Kenyans are pushed below the poverty line and remain poor as a result of healthcare expenses. Credit: Paul NevinBy Siddharth Chatterjee and Dr Githinji GitahiNAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 12 2017 (IPS)Today is 12 December 2017 is an auspicious day, as it marks Kenya’s independence from colonial rule in 1963. Today is also Universal Health Coverage Day. It is the anniversary of the first unanimous United Nations resolution calling for countries to provide affordable, quality health care to every person, everywhere. In Kenya illness can mean financial ruin.Every day families are forced to sell their assets, rely on community support or see their modest life savings wiped out by medical bills.Ill-health is a substantial burden not only on Kenyan families, but also on the country’s economic growth. Every year, nearly one million Kenyans are pushed below the poverty line and remain poor as a result of healthcare expenses.Out-of-pocket expenses at point of treatment in Kenya make up a third of the country’s total health expenditure, far above the World Health Organization’s suggested 15 or 20%.“Universal health coverage should be [viewed] as a rights issue,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO). “Many families are getting into poverty because they are spending their savings for health care services.”Across the globe there is a strong correlation between high rates of out-of-pocket expenses and cata...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Siddharth Chatterjee and Githinji Gitahi Tags: Africa Aid Headlines Health Inequity Poverty & SDGs TerraViva United Nations Women's Health Source Type: news
More News: Accidents | African Health | Babies | Budgets | Employment | Expenditures | Funding | Government | Health Insurance | Health Management | Hospitals | Insurance | Insurers | International Medicine & Public Health | Kenya Health | Partnerships | Primary Care | Rural Health | Statistics | Strategic Planning | United Nations | WHO | Women