Hospital privatisations a disaster for public health
16 April 2014
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the "Hôpital du Cinquantenaire" has recently opened. It cost 100 million dollars. The building began in 1954, was interrupted in 1960 and started again in 2009 following a decision by President Joseph Kabila. The hospital has 500 beds and state of the art equipment and services. But a consultation will cost between 20 and 25 dollars, while most members of the population live on 1.25 dollar per day.
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In Lesotho, a new hospital is costing the government 67 million dollars per year. The government obtained advice from the International Finance Corporation (IFC – the private sector investment arm of the World Bank) and was told the new hospital would cost the same as the public hospital it replaced. Instead, it's costing the government 51% of their total health budget. That means fewer and fewer resources will be available to tackle serious and increasing health problems in rural areas where three quarters of the population live.