Health aid slow, targets may not be met

| TEENA THACKER

Published : Apr 14, 2016, 2:53 am IST

Updated : Apr 14, 2016, 2:53 am IST

Existing trends suggest that by 2040 nearly half of the developing countries are unlikely to meet international health spending targets to make basic services universally available.

Existing trends suggest that by 2040 nearly half of the developing countries are unlikely to meet international health spending targets to make basic services universally available. According to two major studies published in the Lancet, international aid for health is stagnating and is unlikely to bridge the gap.

Experts blame low domestic investment and stagnating international aid for the same. The studies, led by Dr Joseph Dieleman from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), Seattle, US, will be presented at the World Bank Group Universal Health Coverage Annual Financing Forum this week.

“Despite tremendous need, our results show that tepid growth in health spending is likely in many of the poorest countries with the largest disease burdens over the next 25 years,” says Dr Dieleman.

“Historically, some of these financing gaps have been filled by international aid. But, funding growth has stalled in recent years and future projections suggest that global health funding may not be sufficient to bridge the gap.”

He adds, “These changes in the growth and focus of international aid could have a serious impact on over 15 million people taking anti-retroviral therapy in developing countries and on health services in some low-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria remain among the top threats to health.”

The research estimates that by 2040, average health spending per person will range from $164 in low-income countries to $9,019 in high-income countries, remaining lowest in sub-Saharan Africa in countries like Somalia ($34), and highest in the US ($16,592).

Consequently, many low-income countries are not expected to reach even the most basic globally-agreed financing targets by 2040.

“Even in 2040, governments in almost half (35 of 80) of low- and lower-middle-income countries studied will fall short of the $86 per person spending target required to make essential health services universally available,” noted the Lancet.