Diseases cost $ 2.4 billion a year to African region, says WHO



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Praia, Cape Verde, March 27, 2019 – The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that nearly 630 million years of healthy life were lost in 2015 due to diseases that affect the of its 47 member states in Africa, which today represents a loss of human lives. more than $ 2.4 trillion ($) from the value of the region's gross domestic product each year.

Noncommunicable diseases have outpaced infectious diseases because they weigh the most on productivity, accounting for 37% of the disease burden. Other responsible for lost good years include communicable and parasitic diseases; maternal, neonatal and nutrition-related conditions; and wounds.

According to the WHO, about 47% or $ 796 billion of this lost productivity could be avoided in 2030 if the sustainable development goals related to these health problems were achieved.

"Four years after the implementation of country efforts to achieve UHC, current average health spending in the Region falls short of this expectation," wrote the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti. A heavy burden: the cost of productivity in Africa, which was launched at the second WHO Forum on Health in Africa this week in Cabo Verde.

To achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3, universal health coverage would require countries in the WHO African Region to spend an average of at least $ 271 per capita per year on health, or 7.5 per cent of the domestic product. gross of the region.

According to estimates by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals will require expenditures ranging from $ 1.5 trillion to $ 2.5 trillion per year until 2030 , up to $ 37.5 trillion. Low-income countries will need an additional $ 671 billion ($ 76 per capita on average) by 2030 to meet the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

To achieve the health-related goals of the Sustainable Development Goals, countries must invest appropriately in the development of resilient national and local health systems in order to effectively, cost effectively and efficiently implement integrated health systems. proven cost-effective interventions contained in relevant global programmatic strategies and programs for target populations. in need.

The findings of the WHO burden of disease study suggest that health systems strengthening should focus on rich countries, poor countries and all ages, as well as specific disease categories.

Five countries (Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Ethiopia, Nigeria and the United Republic of Tanzania) accounted for nearly 50% of the total years lost in healthy lives (or DALYs) accumulated in the African Region of WHO. .

The unpredictability of government revenues, combined with increasing debt pressure, limits the potential fiscal space that can be made available to health. Private sources of funding have filled the gap, but either with expenses that lead to financial difficulties or with insufficient voluntary private health insurance that does not extend the coverage of the service to those who have it. need.

As the report points out, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, including the goal of universal health coverage, will require political will and greater attention to planning and financing of sustainable development. health by the government. It will also require higher expenditures from government revenues, reforms to generate additional revenue, and strategic purchasing mechanisms. And people who are generally left behind will need to be at the center of health financing reform.

"This report shows how achieving the key goals of the Sustainable Development Goals related to health, including universal health coverage, would contribute to large-scale poverty alleviation efforts, reduce gender disparities, combat poverty and reduce poverty." Social exclusion and promote political stability and economic development in the African region of WHO. "Explains Grace Kabaniha, health economist at the WHO Regional Office for Africa. "It also provides vital evidence that health ministries can use in the dialogue on resource allocation with finance ministries. This is in addition to evidence that health is a strategic investment for development. "

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