In general, the healthcare systems in all eight studied countries are working toward a more positive future. This report confirms some challenges they face and discusses the future directions of these governments. Overall, the incidence, prevalence, and death rates of infectious diseases like TB, HIV, and malaria are decreasing, but NCDs are increasing in incidence due to increased tobacco and alcohol consumption, rising obesity levels, decreases in physical activity, urbanization, education access, and poverty. As education and literacy rates increase, so does poverty, though slower than expected. All eight countries have decent hospital distribution and are working toward the goal of 2.2 hospitals per 10,000 inhabitants. Healthcare providers remain scarce, possibly because governments have prioritized funding tertiary facilities and services, rather than primary care coverage and healthcare providers’ benefits.

Many research studies show that healthcare systems in Africa are underfunded and under-resourced, and our data confirm this finding. However, although we tried to use the most recent data for all eight samples, most are from 2016 or earlier, and not all countries had data for all the sections covered here. Data came from websites covering demographics, prevalence, incidence, and death rates of diseases, as well as education, economy, and finance-related information (e.g. World Bank, Knoema, and Statistics). Although not always current, these sites accurately depict trends for each indicator. In addition to surveys and censuses, data projections also provide insight. The exact values of some indicators may differ, but general trends should be reliable.

Country-specific data, such as hospital distribution and insurance information, is scattered and difficult to find. Most countries’ health departments publish annual reports, but that is not always the case for governments in Africa. Some governments do not have an official website. Some departments did not start publishing reports until 2017, for example, and some of those have missing or incomplete years. It is therefore difficult to obtain the most recent data or depict trends. Moreover, academic articles and news articles often do not publish data annually.

Data that are qualitative, less useful for budgeting, and less essential to the government are the most challenging to find. These data include patterns and trends related to nutrition, physical activity, social media use, and insurance coverage. Even if they are not directly related to disease, this information often provides important information about key health risk factors. Understanding changes in these indicators can generate predictions of future health trends, especially if that knowledge can be used to benefit patients in the long term.

Complete List of Data Sources

Accueil

Cancer Association of South Africa

Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook

Cleiss

Department of Health, Republic of South Africa

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Global Health Data Exchange

Global Nutrition Report

Health Data

Jeune Afrique

Journal du Net

Knoema

La Presse Médicale

National Treasury, Republic of South Africa

NCD Risk Factor Collaboration

Pan African Medical Journal

Portail Officiel du Gouvernement de Côte d’Ivoire

Revue Médicale Suisse

Statistia

Statistics South Africa

UN Sustainable Development

UNICEF

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund

US Agency for International Development

World Bank

World Health Organization

World Population Review