Public sector priorities impact reproductive health outcomes.(Factfile)

Public or government spending on health is very important especially for people who can barely meet their survival needs. Public spending on health is one indicator of the priority that it gives to the health needs of the people. The best performer in the group (see table) in terms of female life expectancy and maternal mortality rates is Malaysia (74.7 per 100,000 and 41 per cent). Yet public spending on health as a percentage of total government budget is only 6.5 per cent.

Compare this to the Philippines whose maternal mortality rate is high (200 per 100,000), yet its public ...

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