An Analysis of Diseases Burden and Out of Pocket Health Expenditure among South Asian Countries

Abstract

Health is an important determinant of human development, which is about enhancing freedom of human beings. Good health brings freedom to people to enjoy their life and attain desires. Incidence of diseases curtails this freedom of people and incurs burden on households and society. In this broader background the present paper attempts to examine burden of diseases and out of pocket expenditure on health in South Asian countries. This region is home to large proportion of poor people; and high incidence of diseases is likely to put more burdens. Information on diseases, i.e., number of deaths by causes has been collected from WHO data base and data on expenditure on health is obtained from World Bank’s World Development Indicators. The analysis reveals that non-communicable diseases have increased between 2000 and 2015; and communicable diseases have decreased in the region, with variation between countries. Private health expenditure incurred by people also has increased during the same time and out of pocket health expenditure, which constitutes around 90 per cent of private health expenditure, indicates the higher burden on households in South Asia.