Data suggest link to poor medical services, disrespect, and bribe paying.

Abstract

Although considerable research has examined the impact of violent conflict on health outcomes in Africa - such as undernutrition, child mortality, and maternal mortality - a significant gap remains in understanding how it affects individuals' perceptions of health-care services and the quality of their interactions with health-care staff during hospital visits. This study seeks to address that gap by analysing data from Round 9 of the Afrobarometer survey, conducted across 39 African countries between 2021 and 2023 (n=53,444). Regression analysis indicates that greater exposure to violent conflict is associated with a lower probability of individuals visiting a health-care facility in the past year, likely due to fear of victimisation, which suppresses health-seeking behaviour. Among the subset of respondents who did visit a health-care facility, further analysis shows that conflict exposure is linked to more negative evaluations of the care received. Specifically, it increases the likelihood of individuals reporting poor service quality, experiencing disrespect from health-care staff, and having to pay bribes to access needed care.

Daniel Tuki Daniel Tuki is an independent researcher in Berlin, Germany.