Access to quality healthcare is a fundamental right and a cornerstone of societal well-being. In Africa, the healthcare landscape has seen significant improvements over the years, but challenges persist.
The concept of a healthcare index has gained prominence as a tool to assess and benchmark healthcare systems, enabling countries to identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.
Africa’s healthcare system is a diverse tapestry, characterised by a mix of public and private providers, varying infrastructure levels, and differing degrees of access to medical services.
While some countries have made commendable strides in healthcare delivery, others grapple with limited resources, inadequate infrastructure, and workforce shortages. This inequality in healthcare access often leads to disparities in health outcomes among different populations.
This disparity has been documented by several platforms whose research shows the varying degrees of healthcare status of different African countries. One such platform is Numbeo.
Numbeo, a platform that provides up-to-date information about the cost of living, quality of life, and various socio-economic factors across cities and countries worldwide is one such platform, and mid-way into 2023, Numbeo has updated its health index.
Numbeo’s data is derived from surveys conducted by visitors to our website. Questions in these surveys are designed to be similar to many scientific and government surveys. Each entry in the survey is assigned a number within the range of -2 to +2, where -2 represents a strongly negative perception and +2 represents a strongly positive perception.
The Health Care Index itself is an estimation that evaluates the overall quality of the healthcare system, including factors such as healthcare professionals, equipment, staff, doctors, and costs. It provides an assessment of the healthcare infrastructure, services, and resources available in a specific location.
Numbeo ranks a select number of African countries, and below are 5 with the best healthcare system. A similar list was published earlier this year, and the results remain largely unchanged with the exception of a few decimal changes.
| Rank | Country | Healthcare index | Global rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | South Africa | 63.5 | 50th |
| 2. | Kenya | 61.5 | 53rd |
| 3. | Tunisia | 57.8 | 67th |
| 4. | Algeria | 53.9 | 80th |
| 5. | Nigeria | 48.0 | 87th |
| 6. | Egypt | 47.7 | 88th |
| 7. | Morocco | 45.4 | 91st |
Source: Business Insider
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