Good afternoon. Should hospitals and clinics charge for healthcare? It is an emotive issue in Mozambique and elsewhere in the world, and access to free healthcare is required by the Mozambican constitution. As this newsletter noted yesterday, Beira’s general hospital has been ordered to stop demanding user charges from patients, after an NGO complained.
The full Daily Briefing continues below for Pro subscribers. Subscribers to the Zitamar News tier can read the top half, including the full leader article, here.
But behind the ideal of free healthcare lie some grim realities. For one thing, getting treated often requires paying money anyway, just not to the hospital authorities. Doctors and nurses commonly demand bribes in order to treat patients. Pregnant mothers who cannot or will not pay risk being left to give birth without help. Apart from the fact that bribes are ingrained in the culture of state institutions, they do not earn a decent wage.
For another, the healthcare sector is severely underfunded. It is normal that hospitals and clinics cannot afford to pay for adequate medical supplies, or electricity and water bills, or for other services like security. We recently noted that many facilities have no flushing toilets or running water, as they are unable to maintain their water and sewage pipes.
