November 28, 2011 – NAIROBI (Xinhua) — The urban poor in Kenya, especially those living in slum districts, spend two times more on health than other residents living in formal settlements.
Health experts say poor living conditions, lack of access to health facilities, coupled with little proportion of income make the urban poor spend more on health care.
“They averagely spend two times more on health than other residents living in formal settlement,” notes Dr Alex Ezeh, the Executive Director of the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC).
“If someone living in a middle-income estate uses 21 U. S. dollars a year on health, the urban poor ends up spending twice that amount in a year or even more,” he adds.
Kenya National Health Accounts report of 2009/2010 released recently shows families averagely use 34 dollars per person annually on healthcare.
Statistics from Kenya’s Ministry of Health indicate that close to 44 percent of people in the East African nation do not seek medical care because of high costs.
http://www.coastweek.com/kenxin_251111_04.htm
