A recent study conducted by WaterAid, and the World Bank has revealed the economic toll of hospital-acquired infections in sub-Saharan Africa, amounting to as much as $8.4 billion annually.
These infections not only drain financial resources but also contribute to hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths across the region.
The study
The study indicates that implementing improved handwashing facilities, clean water access, and proper sanitation could prevent at least half of these infections.
- Particularly vulnerable areas within healthcare facilities include intensive care units, neonatal wards, and pediatric departments, where infection rates are found to be the highest.
- Infections acquired in healthcare settings, ranging from sepsis to pneumonia, impose a significant burden on African economies, consuming an average of 1.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) and 4.5% of health budgets, according to the research findings.
WaterAid emphasized the urgent need for action, highlighting the looming threat of antibiotic resistance, which further complicates the treatment of such infections and contributes to nearly five million deaths globally each year.
The economic impact of hospital-acquired infections in Africa
Among the countries surveyed, Malawi emerges as the hardest hit, with the nation allocating 2.9% of its GDP and 10.9% of its annual health budget to address hospital-acquired infections.
- Other countries included in the study were Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Zambia, Uganda, and Mali.
- Sol Oyuela, WaterAid’s Executive Director of Global Policy and Campaigns, stressed the importance of ensuring access to clean water, proper sanitation, and hygiene in every healthcare facility, labeling these as fundamental human rights that require international cooperation for realization.
- The financial strain caused by healthcare-associated infections adds to the mounting pressure on African nations’ health budgets, exacerbated by a looming debt crisis across the developing world.
- The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development reports that approximately 3.3 billion people, half of the global population, reside in countries where debt payments surpass investments in education and healthcare.
Already, countries like Ghana, Ethiopia, and Zambia are struggling with debt defaults and are actively seeking to restructure their substantial liabilities to alleviate the strain on their economies and healthcare systems.