Half of world’s population lacks access to essential health services – WHO laments

By Doosuur Iwambe

The World Health Organisation, (WHO) has said that more than half of of the world’s population lack access to essential health services.

According to the global health body, this development has pushed almost 100 million people into extreme poverty yearly due to the costs of paying for care out of their own pockets.

The WHO Country Representative, Walter Mulombo made this disclosure during the 6th Annual Conference of the Association of Nigeria Health Journalists (ANHEJ) in Akwanga on Thursday.

Represented by Ahmed Khedr, WHO Field Presence Cluster Lead, Mulombo said, healthcare in Nigeria is financed predominantly by households, who pay for healthcare out of their pockets.

According to him, about 100 million people across the globe are pushed into extreme poverty every year because they pay for care out of their own pockets.

He said: “Here in Nigeria, healthcare is financed predominantly by households, who pay for healthcare out of their pockets.

“With healthcare out-of-pocket expenditure at 70.5% of the Current Health Expenditure (CHE) in 2019, General Government Health Expenditure as a percentage of the GDP was 0.6%, while Government Expenditure per Capita was $14.6 compared with WHO’s $86 benchmark for universal health coverage (UHC)”.

“Currently, the country bears the highest burdens of tuberculosis and paediatric HIV, while accounting for 50% of neglected tropical diseases in Africa”.

“Although the prevalence of malaria is declining (from 42% to 23%), the country contributes 27% of global cases and 24% of global deaths. NCDs account for 29% of all deaths in Nigeria with premature mortality from the 4 main NCDs (Hypertension, Diabetes, Cancers, Malnutrition) accounting for 22% of all deaths”.

While stressing that the pathway to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is slim, Dr Molumbo emphasised the need for leaders to prioritise health for all by ensuring that everyone have access to health.

He added that until something is done, the negative externalities pose huge losses to the Nigerian economy.

“There is no single pathway to UHC. All countries must find their own way, in the context of their own social, political and economic circumstances.

“But the foundation everywhere must be a political commitment to building a strong health system, based on primary care, with an emphasis on disease prevention and health promotion. Such health systems do not only provide the best health outcomes; they are also the best defense against outbreaks and other health emergencies. In this sense, UHC and health security are truly two sides of the same coin”.

Dr Molumbo who affirmed the continued support of the WHO urged participants to utilised the opportunity of the conference and come up with ideas that will help in promoting the health sector.

Ealier, ANHEJ president Mr Hassan Zaggi in his welcome address expressed worry over the poor state of Primary Healthcare Facilities in the country.

According to Zaggi, when people living in rural communities took ill, the first and nearest health facility to them is the PHC but unfortunately, most of them cannot access services as they pay from their pockets.

Zaggi said that the theme of the workshop: “Health Security, UHC & NHIA: How Can Nigeria get is right- the Role of the Media in Perspective” is apt as it afford participants the opportunity to examined the current issues in the health sector.

“Colleagues, our annual conferences afford us the opportunity to leave our base and our usual schedules to reflect and take a critical look at current and nagging issues in the health sector.

“As we all know, most Nigerians live in the rural areas and poverty is most endemic among the rural people. This affects their health seeking behavior because of out-of-pocket expenditure.

“When people in the rural communities are sick, the first and nearest health facility to them is the Primary Health Centre (PHC) but unfortunately most people cannot access services at these health facilities because of Out of Pocket Payment.

“It is important that we put our brains to task in these few days to come up with workable suggestions for the government and stakeholders to consider.

“Government at all levels must take the health of our people serious, in fact, it should be at the top of their priority, because, as we all know, health is wealth. It is only a healthy society that can be productive.

“Lawmakers at both the federal, state and local government levels must also ensure they enact the relevant laws that will support and improve the attainment of UHC through health insurance.

“In order to eliminate the out-of-pocket payment that makes access to quality and affordable healthcare services inequitable especially amongst the indigent and vulnerable groups, communities and associations must begin to adopt models that suit their enrolment in health insurance to enable them access health care services when the need arises without catastrophic expenditure”, he said.