Who: Total global health spending falls for the first time in 24 years

The latest figures from the World Health Organization show that total global spending on health in 2022 will decline for the first time since 2000.

According to the WHO's Global Health Expenditure Report 2024, released Thursday (December 12), total global health expenditure in 2022 will be $9.8 trillion, or 9.9 percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP), Xinhua reported. This is the first time in 24 years that total global health spending has declined.

According to the report, domestic public health spending per capita in high-income, upper-middle-income, lower-middle-income and low-income countries worldwide will all decline in 2022 compared to 2021.

In addition, out-of-pocket costs remain a major source of health financing in 30 low - and lower-middle-income countries. In 20 of these countries, more than half of total health spending is borne by patients, exacerbating poverty.

The World Health Organization says government spending on health is critical to achieving universal health coverage. At a time when 4.5 billion people worldwide do not have access to basic health services and 2 billion face economic hardship due to medical costs, deprioritizing health spending in government spending could have dire consequences.