The countries with the highest and lowest investment in health in Latin America

2023-04-28 00:00:27

• According to the most recent OECD analysis, the average investment in health for all Latin American and Caribbean countries is 8.8% of GDP.
• In the same study, Mexico appears among the last places with only a figure of 5.4%.
• On the other hand, in Nordic countries such as Denmark the annual investment is higher than 11%.

The payment of taxes is one of the obligations that people have around the world. The money collected is used in multiple ways but the greatest desire is that it be used for the collective benefit. With this in mind, the Investment in health should be a priority for all governments, although in the end not all show it.

One of the indicators used to make economic measurements is the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is a macroeconomic magnitude that expresses the monetary value of the production of goods and services of final demand of a country or region during a determined period. Its calculation is framed within the national accounting.

Investment in health in Latin America

However, one of the biggest complaints in this region of the world is the little interest that exists in the health sector. The Covid-19 pandemic made evident the low number of hospitals and doctors, in addition to the poor infrastructure of much of the hospital network.

One of the direct consequences was the saturation of units, which was registered in several countries during the moments of greatest intensity of the health emergency. In some cases, the hospitals reached their maximum capacity and did not allow them to receive more patients.

Therefore, it is worth knowing how the issue of investment in health is located within this area. The answer can be found in the latest analysis from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The research mentions that Cuba is the best positioned country because it allocates 11.1% of its GDP to the field of health. While slightly below appear Brazil with 9.6% and Argentina with 9.5%.

The research mentions that the The average figure for all the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean is 8.8%. For the same reason, it causes concern that there are countries with lower numbers.

The countries with the least investment in health

That said, now is the time to learn about the nations that allocate less money to the field of health. In last place is St. Lucia, a small Caribbean island with a population of approximately 179,000. according to estimates only 4.3% of its GDP is directed to health.

Also at the bottom of the list are Peru with 5.2% and Mexico with 5.4%. In all cases it is notorious that investment in health is insufficient because there are very few resources for such a necessary item.

However, this panorama contrasts with what happens in other regions of the world such as the Nordic. It is constantly mentioned that Mexico aspires to have a health system like Denmark’s. The difference is that this nation allocates more than 11% of its GDP to the health sector and that is why the differences are so abysmal.

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