One million people are being denied basic health care in Burundi as a result of a cost-recovery system adopted in 2002, the relief organisation Médécins sans Frontières (MSF) said on Thursday.
According to a survey by MSF, the system, which covers about five million people, denies one-fifth of the population access to medical consultations, mainly for financial reasons (82% of people did not consult due to lack of money).
The results of the survey are alarming, said the statement.
Notably, it shows that the frequency of health centres has significantly declined since the tariffs were increased.
The government, which devotes the great majority of its Budget to the war effort, intervenes only for salaries of medical personnel and financing of infrastructures, MSF said in a statement.
”Given the level of extreme poverty in which Burundians live, asking the population to finance their own health-care system is tantamount to totally denying them health care,” said Luc Nicolas, MSF coordinator for Burundi.
According to MSF figures, 99% of the Burundian population live under the threshold of absolute poverty of $1 per day and more than 85% survive on less than $1 per week.
A consultation in a basic health centre is equivalent to the wages earned in 12 days of agricultural labour. — Sapa