Africa’s healthcare system quiz – test your knowledge

Africa's healthcare system has a chance to be revolutionary
The African healthcare system has a clean slate and the youngest population in the world

The IFC (International Finance Corporation) states $25-30 billion dollars will be needed in the next decade to keep up with the young continent growing population. And their rapid urbanization, which is the fastest in the world, and large-scale migration to cities means proper health infrastructure is required.

The African continent has challenges, that’s for sure: 14% of the global population yet 54% of all communicable (infectious) diseases. A stark contrast to the USA’s healthcare structure.

It’s certainly fascinating when you research Africa’s healthcare system…

How much does Tanzania spend on healthcare per person?

Correct! Wrong!

Around 5.6% of Tanzania's GDP is spent on improving health, which is higher than some other African nations. But for comparison, the UK spends $4000/person on healthcare.

What percentage of the worlds HIV/AIDS cases come from Africa?

Correct! Wrong!

It's 60% of the world's total, yet they have 14% of the global population, making it the second-most populous continent. And those population numbers are set to rise further.

What is the percentage of people in sub-Saharan Africa with access to clean water?

Correct! Wrong!

The quality of living isn't quite as good south of the Sahara. Countries like Algeria and Egypt are some of the richest African nations and a lot of residents enjoy a pretty solid living.

What percentage of the worlds doctor's reside in Africa?

Correct! Wrong!

In some countires, it's particularly bad with Zimbabwe having only 1 doctor per 10,000 people!

How many Tanzanian's receive antiretroviral treatment for HIV/AIDS?

Correct! Wrong!

This is excellent progress. That means most people living with HIV can live with the virus, have a good quality of life and most of them won't die from AIDS. But there are still a whopping 1.5 million people in Tanzania with HIV/AIDS... They also have an incredibly low doctor to patient ratio: 1:30,000!

What percentage of Africa's population is under the age of 24?

Correct! Wrong!

It makes this the worlds youngest continent. And there's a lot of amazing work invested to increase the life expectancy at birth from 54 to 61 years between 2000-2015. But still, a female Japanese lady can expect to live to 87!

How many African countries spend $44 per capita per year on healthcare

There are 54 countries in Africa
Show hint
Correct! Wrong!

The reason for the $44 is that the WHO stated that this figure should be the minimum a country should spend. There are still a number of Sub-Saharan African countries that can't do this. There has been a lot of progress through - in 2000 there were only 15 countries.

How much of Africa's population live in slums?

Correct! Wrong!

Coupled with Africa being a rapidly urbanizing continent, this isn't good. Having poor sanitation and a lot of people living in close quarters greatly increases the chances of communicable disease outbreaks. And this still happens in Africa - we all remember the 2014 West Africa ebola outbreak.

How many of the malaria cases globally originate in Africa?

Correct! Wrong!

That's around 300-500 million cases per year, mostly in children under 5 years old. But the good news is 33 of the 42 malaria-epidemic countries have artemisinin-based medicine.

If Nigeria wanted the same number of doctors/capita as the UK, how many more would they need?

Correct! Wrong!

It goes to show that Africa has a clean slate. A way to revolutionize healthcare. Because if you were to follow the UK system, to reach 700,000 trained doctors would take Nigeria 300 years!

Africa's healthcare system quiz - test your knowledge
How did you do?

African savannah

Thanks for completing the quiz! Hopefully, you've got some useful info on Africa's healthcare system. Try the quiz again if you didn't get 10/10 if you'd like
Previous articleAn easy earwax removal video guide
Next articleIs snoring bad for your health?


Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here