This archive report was first published on 10 August 2019.
Published on August 10, 2019, by The EastAfrican, this article highlights the dire state of East Africa's health sector.
With a swelling population and increasing life expectancy, the region is facing a growing burden of non-communicable diseases, including malaria, bacterial infections, and diseases perceived as ailments of privilege.
The health system is struggling to cope with the influx of patients, and access to diagnosis and treatment is a significant challenge. The cost of treatment remains prohibitive, and the region's governments have been criticized for their overdependence on donors.
Reforming the health sector will require a complex but not impossible task, starting with taking back ownership of the sector through realistic budget allocations. Resolving the human resource question in health is necessary to remove the current wastage on training people who are not employed.
Without new thinking at the policy level and a culture of ethical responsibility, East Africa's health sector will continue to waste resources.
