WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Since 2000, most countries - across all income levels and regions - have made concurrent progress in expanding health service coverage and reducing the financial hardship associated with health costs, according to a new joint report from the World Health Organization and the World Bank Group. These two indicators are the foundation of universal health coverage - the global commitment that everyone, everywhere can access the care they need without financial hardship by 2030.
'The UHC Global Monitoring Report 2025' shows that health service coverage, measured by the Service Coverage Index, rose from 54 to 71 points between 2000 and 2023. Meanwhile, the share of people experiencing financial hardship due to large and impoverishing out-of-pocket health payments declined from 34 percent to 26 percent between 2000 and 2022.
However, the report cautions that the poorest populations continue to bear the greatest burden of unaffordable health costs, with 1.6 billion people further pushed into poverty. Overall, an estimated 4.6 billion people worldwide still lack access to essential health services and 2.1 billion people experience financial hardship to access health care.
Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2025 AFX News