scholarly journals Health Spending and Vaccination Coverage in Low-Income Countries

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Castillo-Zunino ◽  
Pinar Keskinocak ◽  
Dima Nazzal ◽  
Matthew Freeman
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Castillo-Zunino ◽  
Pinar Keskinocak ◽  
Dima Nazzal ◽  
Matthew C Freeman

SummaryBackgroundRoutine childhood immunization is a cost-effective way to save lives and protect people from disease. Some low-income countries (LIC) have achieved remarkable success in childhood immunization, despite lower levels of gross national income or health spending compared to other countries. We investigated the impact of financing and health spending on vaccination coverage across LIC and lower-middle income countries (LMIC).MethodsAmong LIC, we identified countries with high-performing vaccination coverage (LIC+) and compared their economic and health spending trends with other LIC (LIC-) and LMIC. We used cross-country multi-year linear regressions with mixed-effects to test financial indicators over time. We conducted three different statistical tests to verify if financial trends of LIC+ were significantly different from LIC- and LMIC; p-values were calculated with an asymptotic χ2 test, a Kenward-Roger approximation for F tests, and a parametric bootstrap method.FindingsDuring 2014–18, LIC+ had a mean vaccination coverage between 91–96% in routine vaccines, outperforming LIC- (67–80%) and LMIC (83–89%). During 2000–18, gross national income and development assistance for health (DAH) per capita were not significantly different between LIC+ and LIC- (p > 0·13, p > 0·65) while LIC+ had a significant lower total health spending per capita than LIC- (p < 0·0001). Government health spending per capita per year increased by US$0·42 for LIC+ and decreased by US$0·24 for LIC- (p < 0·0001). LIC+ had a significantly lower private health spending per capita than LIC- (p < 0·012).InterpretationLIC+ had a difference in vaccination coverage compared to LIC- and LMIC that could not be explained by economic development, total health spending, nor aggregated DAH. The vaccination coverage success of LIC+ was associated with higher government health spending and lower private health spending, with the support of DAH on vaccines.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. e004858
Author(s):  
Modhurima Moitra ◽  
Ian Cogswell ◽  
Emilie Maddison ◽  
Kyle Simpson ◽  
Hayley Stutzman ◽  
...  

IntroductionIn 2017, development assistance for health (DAH) comprised 5.3% of total health spending in low-income countries. Despite the key role DAH plays in global health-spending, little is known about the characteristics of assistance that may be associated with committed assistance that is actually disbursed. In this analysis, we examine associations between these characteristics and disbursement of committed assistance.MethodsWe extracted data from the Creditor Reporting System of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, and the WHO National Health Accounts database. Factors examined were off-budget assistance, administrative assistance, publicly sourced assistance and assistance to health systems strengthening. Recipient-country characteristics examined were perceived level of corruption, civil fragility and gross domestic product per capita (GDPpc). We used linear regression methods for panel of data to assess the proportion of committed aid that was disbursed for a given country-year, for each data source.ResultsFactors that were associated with a higher disbursement rates include off-budget aid (p<0.001), lower administrative expenses (p<0.01), lower perceived corruption in recipient country (p<0.001), lower fragility in recipient country (p<0.05) and higher GDPpc (p<0.05).ConclusionSubstantial gaps remain between commitments and disbursements. Characteristics of assistance (administrative, publicly sourced) and indicators of government transparency and fragility are also important drivers associated with disbursement of DAH. There remains a continued need for better aid flow reporting standards and clarity around aid types for better measurement of DAH.


Circulation ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 137 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gene F Kwan ◽  
Benito Isaac ◽  
Lily Yan ◽  
Waking Jean-Baptiste ◽  
Densa Belony ◽  
...  

Background: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are a major and growing cause of death and disability in low-income countries, and contribute a substantial portion of outpatient clinic visits. Poverty can be a major barrier to accessing healthcare in rural low-income countries. The objective of this study is to describe the demographics and socioeconomic status of patients attending an NCD clinic in rural Haiti, where poverty is highly prevalent. Methods: We analyzed routinely collected clinic data from adult patients in rural Haiti presenting to the NCD clinic at Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais. We collected data during routine initial clinic visits from July 2013 through October 2016. We performed descriptive statistics to assess patient demographics and socioeconomic status using available data. We evaluated poverty based on the Multidimensional Poverty Index by evaluating 9 indicators within three dimensions: health, education, and standard of living - we did not assess electricity. We assessed deprivation within each indicator. The “poorest” patients were defined as those deprived in 4 of the 9 poverty indicators. We also assessed measures of catastrophic health spending. Results: A total of 518 adults were included, with 72% (373/508) women. The mean overall age was 52.8 years (SD 14.7) and 21% (108/518) were 40 years old or younger. Of the patients, 32% had only hypertension, 18% had only diabetes, 32% had both diabetes and hypertension, 5% had heart failure, and 13% had no recorded diagnosis. 45% of patients travel more than 1 hour for clinic visits. Almost half (49%, 146/296) of adults sold belongings and 61% (178/292) borrowed money to pay for healthcare. Among the poverty measures, the top indicators with deprivation were cooking fuel with charcoal or wood (96%, 290/302), child death in household (70%, 169/243), and no household members completing primary school (25%, 83/324), lack of household assets (25%, 79/313), poor sanitation (19%, 59/304), dirt floor (16%, 50/304), and lack of improved drinking water (9%, 29/308). Of all patients, 21% (78/378) were among the poorest. Throughout Haiti, however, 55% of the population are among the poorest. There were more patients among the poorest living closer to the hospital (27%) than living farther away (10%). Interpretation: The great majority of patients were middle-aged women, with predominantly hypertension and/or diabetes. Socioeconomic deprivation was high among many poverty indicators and most patients experienced catastrophic health spending. At this clinic in rural Haiti, the proportion of patients presenting for care who are among the poorest is less than that overall in Haiti. Patients who travel far distances have less poverty. Health systems for chronic disease management in rural low-income countries must account for patient poverty.


Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 905
Author(s):  
Yuqi Duan ◽  
Junyi Shi ◽  
Zongbin Wang ◽  
Shuduo Zhou ◽  
Yinzi Jin ◽  
...  

Inequity in the access to and deployment of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines has brought about great challenges in terms of resolving the pandemic. Aiming to analyze the association between country income level and COVID-19 vaccination coverage and explore the mediating role of vaccination policy, we conducted a cross-sectional ecological study. The dependent variable was COVID-19 vaccination coverage in 138 countries as of May 31, 2021. A single-mediator model based on structural equation modeling was developed to analyze mediation effects in different country income groups. Compared with high-income countries, upper-middle- (β = −1.44, 95% CI: −1.86–−1.02, p < 0.001), lower-middle- (β = −2.24, 95% CI: −2.67–−1.82, p < 0.001), and low- (β = −4.05, 95% CI: −4.59–−3.51, p < 0.001) income countries had lower vaccination coverage. Vaccination policies mediated 14.6% and 15.6% of the effect in upper-middle- (β = −0.21, 95% CI: −0.39–−0.03, p = 0.020) and lower-middle- (β = −0.35, 95% CI: −0.56–−0.13, p = 0.002) income countries, respectively, whereas the mediation effect was not significant in low-income countries (β = −0.21, 95% CI: −0.43–0.01, p = 0.062). The results were similar after adjusting for demographic structure and underlying health conditions. Income disparity remains an important cause of vaccine inequity, and the tendency toward “vaccine nationalism” restricts the functioning of the global vaccine allocation framework. Stronger mechanisms are needed to foster countries’ political will to promote vaccine equity.


Author(s):  
Davor Petrović ◽  
Vida Čulić ◽  
Zofia Swinderek-Alsayed

AbstractJoubert syndrome (JS) is a rare congenital, autosomal recessive disorder characterized by a distinctive brain malformation, developmental delay, ocular motor apraxia, breathing abnormalities, and high clinical and genetic heterogeneity. We are reporting three siblings with JS from consanguineous parents in Syria. Two of them had the same homozygous c.2172delA (p.Trp725Glyfs*) AHI1 mutation and the third was diagnosed prenatally with magnetic resonance imaging. This pathogenic variant is very rare and described in only a few cases in the literature. Multinational collaboration could be of benefit for the patients from undeveloped, low-income countries that have a low-quality health care system, especially for the diagnosis of rare diseases.


2013 ◽  
pp. 121-136
Author(s):  
Duong Pham Bao

The objective of this article is to review the development of the rural financial system in Vietnam in recent years, especially, after Doi moi. There are two opposite schools of thought in the literature on rural credit policies in developing countries. One is the conventional supply-side (government-led) approach while the other is called “a new paradigm” that emphasizes the importance of the viability of financial providers and the well functioning of rural credit markets. Conventional theories of rural finance contend that rural finance in low-income countries is generally accompanied by many failures. Contrary to these theories, rural finance in Vietnam does not encounter the above-mentioned failures so far. Up to the present time, it is progressing well. Using a supply-side approach, methodologically, this study reviews the development of the rural financial system in Vietnam. The significance of this study is to challenge the extreme view of dichotomizing between the old and the new credit paradigms. Analysis in this study contends that a rural financial market that, (1) is initiated and spurred by government; (2) operates principally under market mechanisms; and (3) is strongly supported by rural organizations (semi-formal/informal institutions) can progress stably and well. Therefore, the extremely dichotomizing approach must be avoided.


EMJ Radiology ◽  
2020 ◽  

Retained foreign bodies have become very rare in countries where the safety rules in the operating theatre are very rigorous and follow precise guidelines. There are low-income countries where hospital structures are precarious, in which the implementation of surgical safety rules has only been effective recently. Surgical teams in these countries are not yet well trained in the observance of the guidelines concerning swab count, meaning that textilomas are not uncommon. Abdominal textiloma may be asymptomatic, or present serious gastrointestinal complications such as bowel obstruction, perforation, or fistula formation because of misdiagnosis. It may mimic abscess formation in the early stage or soft tissue masses in the chronic stage. This case report presents a 27-year-old female who underwent an emergency laparotomy in a rural surgical centre for an ectopic pregnancy. Two months later, a swelling had appeared on the left side of her abdomen, gradually increasing in size, which was not very painful but caused digestive discomfort and asthenia. Intermittent fever was described and treated with antibiotics. The patient was referred to a better equipped centre to benefit from a CT scan. A textiloma was strongly suspected on the CT but a left colic mass was not excluded. Laparotomy confirmed the diagnosis of textiloma and the postoperative course was uneventful. Prevention rules must be strengthened in these countries where patients can hardly bear the costs of iterative surgeries for complications that are avoidable.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Audu Onyemocho ◽  
Agwa Moses ◽  
Aboh Kisani ◽  
Omole Namben Victoria ◽  
Anejo-Okopi Joseph

Objective: Rabies, one of the oldest and fatal infectious diseases known to human race, is transmitted by infected dogs. The global target of zero dog-mediated rabies human deaths has been set for 2030; however, the realization of this goal poses challenges in most low-income countries where rabies is endemic due to weak surveillance. Dogs have been increasingly deployed for domestic uses over the years, especially for security purposes. This study assessed the assessment of knowledge and practice of vaccination of dogs against rabies by dog owners. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional community-based study was employed to study 400 dog owners in Makurdi metropolis through multistage sampling techniques. Sighting of valid dog vaccination card was used as criteria for current vaccination. Bivariate analysis was carried out to establish the relationship between the respondent knowledge of rabies and dog vaccination with significant value set at P < 0.05. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 31 (Â ± 0.8) years, majority of them had tertiary and secondary education (40.0% and 39.0%, respectively), 26.0% were traders, and 50.0% were married. Overall, 73.0% of the respondents had good knowledge score, 61.0% had seen at least a rabid dog in their life time, and 74.0% have a history of dog vaccination, but evidence of up to date vaccination of dogs by owners was seen in only 18.0% of all the vaccination cards sighted. The relationship between the educational status of the respondents, their knowledge score, and their dog vaccination was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Knowledge of rabies among dog owners in Makurdi was good, but the practice of dog vaccination was poor. Educational status was a good predictor of practice. Awareness campaign on dog vaccination should be strengthened and adequate measures should be put in place at the veterinary hospitals in Makurdi for vaccination of dogs.


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