Asia-Pacific governments must spend more on health, WHO asserts
MANILA,
March 5 (PNA) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) has asserted that
governments in the Asia-Pacific are not spending enough on health,
adding that they do so “in order to cut out-of-pocket health-care costs
for the poor and vulnerable.”
Dr. Shin Young-soo, WHO Regional Director for the Western
Pacific, made this point on Wednesday as part of new strategy designed
to help reduce payments for medical care, stressing that “poverty and
poor health are linked together in a downward spiral.”
"When the poor fall sick, the cost of treatment – if they
can afford it at all – often tips them further into hardship," said
Shin. "And when that happens, they are even more susceptible to
ill-health. And the result of that is greater poverty."
Shin said this was an especially acute problem in the Asia
Pacific region, where out-of-pocket health-care costs are among the
highest in the world. In some countries in the region, more than 60
percent of money spent on health care comes from the patient's pocket.
By contrast, in Germany an average of just 13 percent of all
medical expenses are borne by the patient, with the rest covered by
social health insurance or by the Government. (PNA)
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