Abstract

AIDS: The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank have published a study that suggests low-income African countries can overhaul their health systems and offer health services for as little as thirteen dollars per person per year. The average per capita African expenditure is now fourteen dollars on health care, with the poorest spending ten dollars and some spending more than one hundred dollars. A new approach calls for comprehensive plans to reach the greatest number of people with appropriate care, while integrating care with clean water and sanitation. The report suggests that user fees even in impoverished areas tend to produce both better services and better consumers who value the information and medication they receive. Wadi Haddad of the World Bank states that there is a consensus among international donors not to support individual projects but to encourage healthcare reform, for which each country would develop its own plan and priorities. Haddad revealed the bank has pledged 1.4 billion dollars in loans for thirty countries to reform their healthcare systems.