World Bank calls for more health dollars

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World Bank calls for more health dollars By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP

Economics Writer Thu May 25, 12:07 PM ET

WASHINGTON - It will take a huge infusion of development aid — as

much as $70 billion annually — to improve the health of the world's

poor by 2015, the World Bank says.

Countries need the money to meet such health goals as fighting the

spread of HIV/AIDs, malaria and other diseases, lowering child

death rates and cutting mortality rates for mothers.

" Increased assistance on the order of $25 billion-$70 billion a year

will be needed to achieve the millennium development goals for

health, " the World Bank said Thursday in a 300-plus page report that

examines health care financing worldwide.

Gaps persist between rich and poor countries.

Spending on health care around the globe was $3.2 trillion in 2002,

the report said. Of that, only about $350 billion was spent in low-

and middle-income countries, which are burdened by disease and have

quickly growing populations.

" High-income countries spend about 100 times more on health per

capita than low-income countries, " the report said.

" Worse still, more than half of the meager spending in low-income

countries is from out-of-pocket payments by consumers of care — the

most inequitable type of financing because it hits the poor hardest, "

the report said.

Other millennium development goals include cutting poverty and

bolstering education by 2015. These goals were set by more than 180

world leaders at a U.N. conference in September 2000.

The report comes as countries are struggling with rising health care

costs and scrambling to head off the possibility of a bird flu

outbreak in humans.

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