Half of the world population without health services, says WHO/World Bank report


Source: MercoPress



At least half of the world’s population cannot obtain essential health services, according to a new report from the World Bank and WHO. And each year, large numbers of households are being pushed into poverty because they must pay for health care out of their own pockets.

 Currently, 800 million people spend at least 10% of their household budgets on health expenses for themselves, a sick child or other family member. For almost 100 million people these expenses are high enough to push them into extreme poverty, forcing them to survive on just US$1.90 or less a day. The findings, released in Tracking Universal Health Coverage: 2017 Global Monitoring Report, have been simultaneously published in Lancet Global Health.

“It is completely unacceptable that half the world still lacks coverage for the most essential health services,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO. ”And it is unnecessary. A solution exists: universal health coverage (UHC) allows everyone to obtain the health services they need, when and where they need them, without facing financial hardship.“



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LINK:
http://en.mercopress.com/2017/12/18/half-of-the-world-population-without-health-services-says-who-world-bank-report