GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The massive flooding that has affected large areas of Pakistan for months is straining humanitarian agencies budgets, stretched thin by falling donor contributions as economies weaken. Care International Thursday issued a plea for more funding despite the economic situation, for a particularly vulnerable group, pregnant women.
The Geneva group notes that “of the more than five million people currently affected by the floods in Sindh, approximately 143,750 of them are pregnant women. Of these, 15 percent—or 21,562 women—will need medical treatment for obstetric complications.” The aid group says that women and children need a range of services, from family planning to the prevention and treatment of sexual violence, clean delivery services, and emergency obstetric and newborn care.
Care notes that to date only 22 percent of the promised funding for the emergency in Pakistan has come through, and the situation is desperate:
”Privacy’ is a serious health issue for women, particularly pregnant and lactating women. ‘They are trapped, exposed on the roadside, and there are no private latrines, [Dr Malik Umair, Senior Health Advisor] Umair says.
Breakdown of Swiss health care expenditure, 2008, main categories in Swiss francs: top to bottom, administration, prevention, sales of healthcare products, auxiliary services, ambulatory care, hospital care (Source: Swiss Federal Statistics Office)
Neuchatel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Switzerland spent CHF58.5 billion on health care in 2008, or CHF632 per person, figures published 9 November by the federal government show. Healthcare accounted for 10.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), a share that remains virtually unchanged, although spending itself rose by 5.9 percent and was above the 3.5 percent average increase for the previous five years. GDP also rose in 2008, by 4.4 percent.
The health spending increase puts Switzerland in third place internationally for healthcare costs as a share of GDP, after the United States, 16 percent and France, 11.2 percent. Germany and Austria have fourth and fifth places with 10.5 percent each.
The new figures were released 20 days before the deadline for Swiss residents to change their insurance company for 2011. An important change from one of the main insurers, Intras, for 2011 will affect policy holders’ pharmaceutical payments: in the past the pharmacies billed the insurance company directly, but Intras in future will insist that patients pay their bills, then ask for reimbursement. The move has prompted some discussion about the legality of the change and some pharmacies have written to regular customers to suggest they change insurance companies. A pharmacist in the Morges region told GenevaLunch, however, that Intras may be the largest but is not the first insurance company to make the change, and that there appears to be a trend to move in this direction, with large insurance groups having one of their insurance companies at a time make the change.
Comparis provides comparative health insurance pricing in the run-up to the insurance change deadline.
The Swiss spent CHF37.5m in 2008 on four main categories that account for 61 percent of overall costs: Read more…
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Swiss government has adopted new regulations for fighting the A(H1N1) swine flu pandemic, effective Wednesday 1 July, that put a greater burden on doctors and laboratories to more rapidly report suspected cases to cantonal public health authorities.
Lake Geneva region, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – General practitioners in cantons Vaud and Geneva have closed their offices Tuesday 24 March in protest against new conditions under which laboratory fees are reimbursed.
Ed. note: emergency coverage is provided, as always – tel. 144 and other numbers are provided below.
Bilal Abdulla, a medical doctor from Iraq who has worked in the UK, was found guilty Tuesday of plotting bomb attacks in Glasgow and London in 2007. Another doctor who has been described as a brilliant neurosurgeon, Mohammed Asha from Jordan, was cleared of any involvement, the BBC reports, but he was served deportation papers while he was being held. Abdulla participated in an attack at Glasgow airport in 2007 that killed a third man.
Geneva, Switzerland (Tribune de Geneve, Fre) – The Geneva medical doctors association, unhappy with the federal court ruling that struck down a Geneva no-smoking law, has decided to actively promote cafes and restaurants that remain smoke free.
Bern, Switzerland (Le Temps, Fre) – The freeze on new offices for doctors will be maintained following a vote by the lower house of Parliament Wednesday, which agreed to continue it until the end of 2009. The upper house earlier voted to continue it to 2010, so the proposal will now be returned there to settle the date.
The freeze, in effect for some years, is designed to avoid uncontrolled growth in the number of private practices, which parliament and health authorities believe would result in a sharp increase in health costs. A solution developed with insurance companies has been under discussion for months but no agreement has been reached, and Parliament is extending the moratorium to allow time for a solution to be found.
