Health of the poor at increasing risk in economic crisis, says WHO

Sep 22, 2009, 12:20 GMT

   Hong Kong - The number of people in the Asia-Pacific region with no access to medical care is in danger of increasing as unemployment rises and countries cut health budgets because of the economic crisis, the World Health Organization warned Tuesday.

   Current data indicates that the global crisis will worsen the already serious poverty and social health protection issues in Asia and the Pacific, where more than 900 million people live on less than 2 US dollars a day.

   To combat the problem the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for urgent measures to cushion the ill effects on health caused by the global economic crisis, particularly on vulnerable and impoverished populations.

   It believes rising unemployment and shrinking incomes will result in more people being unable to afford health care.

   The warning came from health experts who gathered in Hong Kong this week at the annual meeting of the WHO Western Pacific Region.

   Speaking at the meeting, Dr Shin Young-soo, WHO regional director for the Western Pacific, stressed the need to strengthen and expand safety nets for the poor and the vulnerable in countries hard hit by the crisis.

   'Health is at the centre because unemployment, job insecurity, the lack of income, and the reduction in benefits and social protection all have effects on health,' Dr Shin said.

   'The issue for many governments is to turn the crisis into an opportunity to improve health systems to protect health, and thus, reinforce economic and social development in the current difficult environment.'

   WHO said past experiences indicate that cuts in preventive health services during previous economic crises caused serious health problems in low-income developing countries - some of which have still not recovered from the ill effects on people's health brought by budget cuts.

   Estimates by the International Labour Organization (ILO) indicate that unemployment in the Asia Pacific region could rise by more than 23 million this year.

   In China alone, about 20 million migrant workers have lost jobs due to the global economic crisis since the downturn began.

   To alleviate the problem, the Regional Committee, WHO's governing body in the region, endorsed a resolution to implement pro-health and pro-poor policies on primary health care principles.

   The committee has also requested that the WHO support country-specific actions and health reforms including monitoring, preventing and addressing the health impacts of the crisis, particularly among the poor and vulnerable populations.

   The issue is one of many on the agenda during the five-day meeting in Hong Kong which runs until Friday. Others include the H1N1 pandemic and malaria.