Financial Times: World Bank plans to name and shame countries on health spending
“The World Bank plans to name and shame countries that are failing to invest in health and education for their citizens, following a new analysis showing that less than half of the world’s population has access to essential health services…” (Jack, 12/13).

The Guardian: Almost 100 million people a year ‘forced to choose between food and health care’
“…A report, published by the World Health Organization and the World Bank on Wednesday, found the poorest and most vulnerable people are routinely forced to choose between healthcare and other necessities for their household, including food and education, subsisting on $1.90 (£1.40) a day…” (Bowman, 12/14).

Intellectual Property Watch: WHO, World Bank Say Half The World Population Cannot Access Essential Health Services
“… ‘Tracking Universal Health Coverage: 2017 Global Monitoring Report,’ released [Wednesday], is a key point of discussion at [the] Universal Health Coverage Forum 2017, currently taking place in Tokyo, according to a WHO press release…” (Saez, 12/13).

NPR: Health Care Costs Push A Staggering Number Of People Into Extreme Poverty
“…Another 800 million people are spending at least 10 percent of their household budget on health care. And 3.5 billion people — accounting for more than half of the world’s population — are simply forced to go without most essential services…” (Aizenman, 12/14).

Reuters: Half of world’s people can’t get basic health services — WHO
“…The report had some good news: This century has seen a rise in the number of people getting services such as vaccinations, HIV/AIDS drugs, … mosquito-repelling bednets, and contraception, it said. But there are wide gaps in the availability of services in sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia, the report found…” (Kelland, 12/13).

U.N. News Centre: Half the world lacks access to essential health services — U.N.-backed report
“…In other regions, basic health care services such as family planning and infant immunization are becoming more available, but lack of financial protection makes it difficult for families to pay for these services. Even in more affluent regions such as East Asia, Latin America, and Europe, a growing number of people are spending at least 10 percent of their household budgets on out-of-pocket health expenses…” (12/13).

Xinhua News: Health expenses push 100 mln people worldwide into extreme poverty: report
“… ‘It is completely unacceptable that half the world still lacks coverage for the most essential health services,’ said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. ‘A solution exists: universal health coverage allows everyone to obtain the health services they need, when and where they need them, without facing financial hardship,’ he said. For his part, World Bank Group President Dr. Jim Yong Kim called for urgently scaling up global efforts on universal health coverage, as ‘investments in health, and more generally investments in people, are critical to build human capital and enable sustainable and inclusive economic growth'” (12/13).