In the midst of all the innovation, disruption, and new levels of efficiency in today’s world, health care delivery seems to have stoically refused to come of age. Rather than becoming increasingly accessible, efficient, and effective, it has largely become more bureaucratic, more expensive, more wasteful, and mostly devoid of the type of game-changing innovation we’re seeing in other industries. As a result, countries around the world are struggling to meet demand, and lower-income countries are predictably the hardest hit.
Consider: The UK National Health Service (NHS) budget stands more than $100 billion per year and is stressed covering 65 million citizens. Nigeria’s entire budget , by contrast, is $22 billion per year, 80 percent of which goes to recurrent government expenses such as salaries, travel, training, and perks. That leaves just $4 billion for health care, education, and infrastructure in a country with a population of 170 million people.