WHO says Africa faces "dramatic" physician shortage by 2015

2008-07-04 09:28:39 [ Big Normal Small ]    　Comment

 UNITED NATIONS, July 2 (Xinhua) -- The UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned that Africa faces a "dramatic" shortage of physicians by the year 2015, according to a new study made public Wednesday.

    The WHO report estimated there will be nearly 13 million doctors by 2015, a figure that will meet demand and will exceed the target of achieving the benchmark of having 80 percent of all live births covered by a skilled attendant.

    But given the imbalances in physician distribution, Africa will face a scarcity of care, with 255,000 doctors in 2015, which WHO said is 167,000 fewer than needed to meet the birth coverage goal.

    The study notes that in 2004, Africa carried nearly one quarter of the world's disease burden with only 2 percent of global physician supply and less than 1 percent of health expenditures worldwide.

    Similarly, Southeast Asia bore 29 percent of the global disease burden, with 11 percent of the world's supply of doctors and 1 percent of health expenditures.

    Meanwhile, the Americas region, with 10 percent of the world's disease burden, accounted for half of the world's health expenditures and one fifth of all physicians.

    Hefty increases in health-care investment and robust policies are essential to boost the number of doctors in Africa, WHO said.

    "Given the disproportionate burden of disease in this region, policies for increasing the supply of physicians are urgently needed to stem projected shortages," according to the study.

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