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The World Health Organization has estimated that the disease was pulling hundreds of millions of dollars from Africa's economic output, the burden of untreated disease far outweighing the potential costs of health care.
In a report released at the end of a three-day United Nations Universal Health Coverage Forum in Africa, WHO estimated that the 47 countries in its African region had lost about 630 million hours of work in good health in 2015 due to illness.
"A heavy burden: the cost of productivity-related disease in Africa," released Thursday, the WHO quantified this loss of productivity in economic terms.
He believes that if countries do not invest adequately in health care and sanitation, the annual loss of gross domestic product (GDP) could rise to 2.4 trillion international dollars – a hypothetical currency with the same parity of purchasing power as the US dollar.
"This represents a huge cost for the Region and, indeed, for Africa as a whole," said WHO Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, in the report.
"The implementation of the essential health services recommended to treat the leading causes of morbidity and premature mortality in the region would halve this cost."
The countries south of the Sahara account for about half of the five million children who die each year before their fifth birthday, while 40% of people with HIV / AIDS in Africa still do not have access to medicines. HIV.
The WHO said that the majority – 59% – of illnesses leading to the loss of healthy working hours were communicable diseases, maternal and nutritional conditions, about 30% being due to noncommunicable diseases and about 10% to injuries.
Five countries – South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Tanzania – have absorbed nearly half of the hours lost due to poor health.
WHO has advocated for the region to "invest adequately in the development of resilient national and local health systems".
It is estimated that more than one-third of the total cost of the disease could be saved by 2030 if countries achieve their health-related development goals.
Development experts say that personal spending on health is a major source of impoverishment in Africa.
Experts say universal health coverage is low or non-existent in Africa, an opinion supported by the lack of statistics on the issue.
In 2001, the countries of the African Union committed to devote at least 15% of their annual budget to health. The WHO said that very few – only four in 2015 – achieved this goal.
flc-burs-sst / klm / bp
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