Oxfam Report Reveals Asian Governments Underfund Public Services, Exacerbating Inequality
A new report by Oxfam highlights that Asian governments are significantly underfunding public services, leading to increased inequality across the region. The report, titled 'Rigged from Birth: How Inequality Steals Futures in Asia & Five Public Services,' examines spending on healthcare, education, social protection, care services, and digital access. It found that Asian governments spend an average of 9.4% of GDP on social protection, which is less than half the global average of 19.3%. Public education spending stands at 2.9% of GDP, falling below the international benchmark of 4-6%. In many debt-distressed economies in the region, governments allocate between seven and 25 times more to debt servicing than to social protection. This underfunding forces households to bear a substantial portion of costs, with nearly 38% of health costs paid out-of-pocket, almost double the average in OECD countries. The report cites examples like Bangladesh, where public healthcare spending is less than 1% of GDP, and hou...
