WHO: global health spending in 2021 totalled almost $10tr and was unevenly distributed
At the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2021, global health spending reached a record high of $9.8 trillion, or 10.3 percent of global GDP, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), TASS reports
In a report published in Geneva to mark Universal Health Coverage Day, celebrated annually on December 12th, WHO noted that global health spending reached a new high of $9.8 trillion in 2021, or 10.3 percent of global GDP.
The report’s authors drew attention to the extremely uneven distribution of costs, with government healthcare spending increasing everywhere except for low-income countries.
“In 2021, about 11 percent of the world’s population lived in countries that spent less than $50 per person per year, while average per capita healthcare costs in high-income countries were about $4,000,” WHO experts noted.
According to the organisation, low-income countries accounted for only 0.24 percent of global health spending, although they are home to 8 percent of the world’s population.
The WHO believes that investment in healthcare must continue. Record spending in 2021 suggests countries have prioritised public health at the height of the pandemic, despite widespread disruption to economies and societies.
The report also stresses that the rise in public health spending seen during this period is unlikely to continue as countries shift their attention to addressing other economic priorities, such as slowing growth, high inflation and increasing debt service obligations.
According to WHO Assistant Director-General for Universal Health Coverage Bruce Aylward, sustainable public financing for health is essential to moving towards universal health coverage. This is especially important at a time when the world is facing a climate crisis, conflict and other emergencies.
“People's health and well-being must be protected by resilient health systems that can also withstand these shocks,” concluded the WHO representative.
