By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 21.12.2018 (SciDev.Net): Rural women in low-income households cannot access healthcare services due to distance and financial reasons. However, overall, healthcare access has improved in 27 countries of the Asia Pacific region over the past decade, says a new joint report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Health at a Glance Asia-Pacific 2018 notes that in Nepal and the Solomon Islands, about three in four women with the lowest household income reported difficulties in accessing healthcare due to financial reasons; two in three reported having unmet care needs due to distance.

The report highlights that achieving Universal Health Coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is based on the “leave no one behind” premise.

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