'Politics and corruption' hit African healthcare provision

A combination of poor government strategy and officials' corruption are hampering healthcare in provision in some of Africa's more financially stable countries, according to health workers.

Despite receiving billions of dollars in oil revenues, Reuters reported that less than half of the 1.6 million population of middle-income nation Gabon have had any kind of vaccinations.

In a speech last month, the country's president, Omar Bongo, blamed Gabon's health problems on corruption among health officials.

"I refuse to believe that the lack of medicines in our health centres, despite the large budgets allocated to them every year, is not due to embezzlement," he said.

However, health workers told the website that this criticism masked the true problem of neglect of local healthcare provision by central government, and called for a switch in focus.

Local World Health Organization representative, Andre Ndikuyeze, said: "They've neglected the basics, so now we are trying to convince the government to invest in health posts at a village and community level."

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