Strong health systems for all with better public spending
Global public health systems in low- and middle-income countries are facing a funding crisis as development assistance declines and national debt burdens rise. Major donor nations have significantly reduced foreign aid, leaving developing countries struggling to meet universal health coverage benchmarks.
Why it matters
The withdrawal of international health funding threatens to reverse progress in global health equity and leaves vulnerable populations at risk during future health crises.
The discourse on building strong public health systems tends to start with financing. Indeed, according to the World Bank, the per capita public spending on universal health coverage in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) — including government expenditure and off-budget development assistance — is about half of the minimum benchmarks. As a share of gross domestic product (GDP), the health expenditure gap between LMICs and high-income countries narrowed from 2.05 percentage points in 2000 to 1.68 percentage points in 2023. While it may seem that LMICs are “catching up”, recent World Health Organization data show that in per capita terms the gap has in fact expanded more than three-fold during this period.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in