World Bank calls for affordable health care services
The World Bank Group would help countries tackle two major challenges as they advance toward universal health coverage: to ensure no family is forced into poverty because of health care expenses, and to close the gap in access to health services and public health protection for the poorest 40% of the population in every country, the World Bank Group President, Jim Yong Kim has said.
He therefore called on countries gathered at the 66th World Health Assembly to ensure universal access to quality, affordable health services to help end extreme poverty by 2030 and boost shared prosperity.
In a press release issued May 21, 2013, it said worldwide estimates are that out-of-pocket health spending forces 100 million people into extreme poverty every year and inflicts severe financial hardship on another 150 million people.
“To free the world from absolute poverty by 2030, countries must ensure that all of their citizens have access to quality, affordable health services. “We have the opportunity to unite global health and the fight against poverty in action focused on clear goals,” Kim said.
“Every country in the world can improve the performance of its health system in the three dimensions of universal coverage: access, quality, and affordability,” he added.
By Dorcas Appiah