Africa: 150 million people driven into poverty by high healthcare bills — WHO report

Most African countries continue to rely heavily on out-of-pocket payments to fund their health services, warns a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional office for Africa, urging governments to reduce the financial strains that high health-care costs place on their population.

The report, released on Universal Health Coverage Day, found that over 150 million people across the continent is being pushed into poverty by hefty out-of-pocket health spending, denying them quality and productive lives. According to Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s regional director for Africa, these healthcare costs are worsening financial hardship and hampering progress in attaining universal health coverage for vulnerable people, many of whom are forced to cut back on essential needs like food and housing.

The report, titled “Towards Universal Health Coverage in the WHO Africa Region: Tracking Financial Protection,” indicates that between 2000 and 2019, the number of people spending over 10% of their household budget on healthcare rose from 52 million to 95 million. In fact, since half of all people impoverished globally because of out-of-pocket payments live in Africa, this rising and worrying trend highlights the urgent need for robust policies, such as scrapping patient fees and expanding health insurance with the aim of alleviating the financial strain on African citizens.