Developing countries of the world , including India, must face the challenges of reforming their health financing systems to ensure that all their citizens get access to effective healthcare , while protecting their people against impoverishment due to catastrophic medical expenses, a new World Bank report said.
The report warned that healthcare systems worldwide are struggling to cope with sharply rising costs even while countries are scrambling to deal with the HIV/AIDS crisis and head off the possibility of human bird flu pandemic. Adding to the woes is that the enormous health gap between rich and poor countries is persisting.'Buzzwords, flavours of the day, and magic bullets will not provide effective solutions to the health financing challenges faced by countries at all income levels. At this crucial global health crossroads, the report offers policy choices based on international evidence and economic principles for governments everywhere facing these enormous challenges,' say authors Pablo Gottret and George Schieber in the report 'Health Financing Revisited: A Practioner's Guide'.
The report has raised serious concerns about current global efforts to expand the reach of healthcare systems to improve the health of millions of the world's poorest people by 2015, as called for in the Millennium Development Goals, stressing that the world community must live up to its promise to substantially increase its development aid at the same time as making it predictable and sustainable.
Source:PTI News
