Health Consequences of the Asian Currency Crisis: Continuing Imperatives for a Primary Health Care Approach

Abstract

The Asian currency crisis and its attendant socio-economic problems in several Asian countries have had serious health consequences, especially for the poor. The scale of these problems has varied between countries due to their differing levels of economic development. Indonesia faces a malor emergency with the threat of widespread malnutrition and rapidly increasing rates of poverty. In this article, some of these health issues are discussed and the response of national governments and international agencies described. To date, the most significant players have been the supra-national financial institutions, which have urged national governments to maintain real levels of expenditure on essential health and education services. These institutions have provided substantial loans to prop up the ailing economies of South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia. Social development programmes, including health, have been an element in each of these loan schemes. It is argued that pressure should be maintained on the IMF, World Bank and Asian Development Bank to support measures to reduce the impact of the crisis on the poor. Such measures must include protection of public expenditure on primary health care. The currency crisis will also provide opportunities to reassert the vital importance of primary health care and to carry out reforms to strengthen it.