More than half of Africans lacked the needed healthcare even before Coronavirus – Afrobarometer

An Afrobarometer analysis has shown that more than half of Africans lack the needed medical care for at least once in a year. This makes it possible for citizens to identify health as the second-most-important national problem they want their governments to address.

According to the study, citizens live without the needed health care during the past year, including about 1 in 5 persons representing 18 percent- who did so “many times” or “always.”

The finding is from a national survey in 34 African countries released in advance of World Health Day on April 7 to provide a pre-COVID-19 snapshot of Africans’ experiences and assessments of public health-care systems committed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 – “good health and well-being” for all.

The study shows that, even before the threat of overwhelming demand due to COVID-19, about 1 in 5 Africans faced a frequent lack of needed health-care services, including almost two-thirds of the poorest citizens.

“While experiences vary widely across countries, among those who had contact with a public health facility in the past year, almost half said it’s difficult to obtain care. 4 in 10 said they experienced long waits or never got service, and about one in eight reported having to pay a bribe to get the care they needed,” the study said.

But, the report indicate that the minority appreciates the health-care provision in their country, stating that, it is improving.

“And governments further received mixed performance reviews on health decided by citizens without the needed medical care and encountered difficulties in obtaining care, or had to pay a bribe,” the report said.

Source: Eric Nii Sackey || ghananewsonline.com.gh