Health and vulnerability
There are strong linkages between ill-health, vulnerability and poverty. This message comes through very strongly in consultations with the poor. Sickness influences individuals and households in many ways. Sick people are less able to work productively and require assistance from other people. They may also have to pay for medical care. Many poor people do not have insurance against serious illness and have great difficulty in borrowing money, sometimes having to sell assets to cope with major illness. This reduces their future ability to deal with crisis. Prolonged illness and major epidemics can seriously affect whole households and wider communities.
This section provides documents that link these dynamics through the livelihoods approach, and helps policy-makers identify specific and general entry points for health strategies.
See the Livelihoods Connect website for more information on sustainable livelihoods.
- Paying out-of-pocket for health care in Asia: catastrophic and poverty impact
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This Equitap paper analyses the extent of out-of-pocket (OOP) payments for healthcare in 14 countries in Asia, and the impact of these payments on household’s income and resources and vulnerability to poverty. It finds that the heavy reliance on OOP financing for healthcare has important consequences for living standards
Recommended readings
- The body [chapter in ‘Voices of the poor: crying out for change’]
- ( D. Narayan; R. Chambers; M. K. Shah; P. Petesch / World Bank , 2000)
- While it is recognised that poverty and poor health are closely linked, it is rare that the poor have the opportunity to voice their own experiences with respect to health issues. Poor people from acr... Element OPUB is undefined in LOCAL.
Latest Additions
- Cost effective methods of reducing neonatal deaths in Nepal
- ( J. Borghi;B. Thapa;D. Osrin / The Lancet , 2005)
- Of the 4 million neonatal deaths worldwide every year, most occur in developing countries. In Nepal, the burden of neonatal mortality is especially high, and over 90 percent of births take place at ho...
- How do women feel about their maternal health in Malawi?
- ( M. Rosato;C.W. Mwansambo;P.N. Kazembe / The Lancet , 2006)
- Improvements in preventive and care-seeking behaviours to reduce maternal mortality in rural Africa depend on the knowledge and attitudes of women and communities. Surveys have indicated a poor awaren...
