The World Bank has set a goal of helping countries provide affordable healthcare to 1.5 billion people by 2030.
World Bank President Ajay Banga made the announcement in a statement, according to a statement posted Sunday on the website of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.
Gavi is an international organization created in 2000 to improve access to new and underused vaccines for children living in the world's poorest countries.
Mr. Banga said providing universal health coverage is key to development.
He said that “offering a basic standard of care to people throughout their lives is fundamental to development.
“This ambition will not be achieved by any single effort. It will require partners, a coalition of the public and private sectors, working together to expand access to health care services.”
Ajay Banga
Global health crisis
The World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that more than half of the world's population, 4.5 billion people, lack comprehensive health care.
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This alarming statistic is compounded by the fact that 1.3 billion people are being pushed into poverty or extreme poverty due to the financial burden of health care costs.
The global health agency said that despite the urgent need for universal health care, progress has been slow in recent years and little progress has been made in ensuring that the world's 8 billion people have access to essential health services.
Yet, undaunted by this challenge, organizations are redoubling their efforts to close the healthcare gap and extend vital services to broader populations, driven by the belief that healthcare is a fundamental human right.
Initiatives to expand access to health care
Shortages of health workers are a major barrier to accessing healthcare: the World Health Organization (WHO) predicts a shortfall of 10 million health workers by 2030, mainly in low- and middle-income countries.
However, research from the World Economic Forum has identified generative artificial intelligence (AI) as a potential solution to alleviate this shortage.
By leveraging AI, healthcare systems can augment the capacity of existing healthcare workers, automate routine tasks and administrative duties, improve patient engagement and empowerment, and enhance data analysis and decision-making.
He noted that by adopting AI, healthcare systems can mitigate the impact of workforce shortages and expand access to essential healthcare services.
According to the research, generative AI has the potential to significantly increase the productivity of healthcare workers, allowing them to achieve more with the same workforce. “AI models can create images and text that are human-like enough to automate many of today’s manual tasks, from transcribing visits between doctors and patients and composing emails to summarizing clinical studies and providing general health information.”
The research further highlighted the potential of generative AI to accelerate the analysis of complex and unstructured data, enabling medical professionals to gain more accurate insights and make informed decisions.
Furthermore, AI-powered chatbots can facilitate more natural, human-like interactions with patients and caregivers, fostering deeper understanding and empowering them to take action, adding that AI is positioned to revolutionize patient engagement, creating a more immersive and personalized experience that strengthens the connection between people and healthcare services.
The report further revealed that AI has the potential to revolutionize patient engagement, enabling early interventions that educate people on healthy lifestyle choices and disease prevention. Upon entering a healthcare facility, AI-powered triage services can direct patients toward diagnosis or treatment, streamlining the process. Additionally, AI can monitor side effects and treatment adherence, further improving patient care.
Addressing the gender gap in healthcare
A report, “Closing the Women’s Health Gap: A Trillion-Dollar Opportunity to Improve Lives and Economies,” finds that equitable health care for women could dramatically improve the lives of more than 3.9 billion people.
The report concludes that effective healthcare for women would reduce the time they spend in poor health by two-thirds. Women spend more years in poor health, often during their most productive years, despite living longer.
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However, there is a significant lack of data on women's biology and insufficient research has been conducted on female health issues, including women-specific conditions and those that affect both sexes but manifest differently in women. Notably, less than 2% of medical research funding is allocated to pregnancy, childbirth and female reproductive health.
The publication of the report at Davos 2024 coincided with the launch of the Global Alliance for Women's Health, which aims to prioritize and promote women's health.