Among development’s many dimensions, health is arguably the most important as it is critical to improvements in many of its facets. Without sustained health, children are unlikely to attain enough quality education that will allow them to flourish as adults, working in well-paying jobs and meaningfully contributing to society over the long term. In other words, neglecting a country’s health, in its many manifestations, is tantamount to ensuring it will grow below its potential.
Yet, Southeast Asia’s gains in health are underwhelming in comparison to remarkable progress in other development dimensions. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as many as 65 million people in this region of around 600 million are at risk of falling into poverty because of expensive basic health services and medications. Furthermore, still according to WHO data, nearly half of Southeast Asians still lack full access to basic health services. Compare these figures with those concerning, say, the region’s headway in eradicating extreme poverty.
In fairness, Southeast Asian governments have embarked on an array of programs and projects aimed at improving their country’s health indicators. In 2002, Thailand introduced its Universal Coverage Scheme. Indonesia and the Philippines have followed in suit in implementing universal health coverage (UHC) as a matter of national policy in the years after. Nevertheless, the average government spending for Southeast Asia’s five richest economies still amounted to 2.9 percent of GDP, in contrast to the world’s average at 9.89 percent of GDP.
Starting this year’s World Health Day on 7 April, the WHO will highlight the need for UHC, and the advantages it can bring about in countries where everyone can access quality health services without facing financial hardship. Written by WHO’s Southeast Asia regional director Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, this week’s first Spotlight article outlines the reasons and the manner this WHO campaign will unfold. UHC is beneficial to a country’s future, feasibility, and equitability.
UHC is part of the Sustainable Development Goals that governments in Southeast Asia signed up for in 2012, so any discussion on UHC would be incomplete without taking into account developments in global health commitments. Our second Spotlight article provides an overview on how much we as a global community have done to stamp out epidemics and other critical diseases and on how much more we still have to do to bring out universal health security.
