Medical aid coverage is the exception rather than the rule across Africa: On average across 28 countries, fewer than one in four adults say they have insurance that helps pay their medical bills if they get sick, the latest Afrobarometer (www.Afrobarometer.org) findings reveal.

Most citizens say they worry about being unable to obtain or afford medical care when they need it, including more than half who say they worry “a lot.”

And Africans overwhelmingly say their governments should ensure that all citizens have access to adequate health care, even if it requires higher taxes.

Key findings

• On average across 28 African countries, only 23% of citizens say they have medical aid coverage (Figure 1). While large majorities say they have health insurance in Gabon (83%), Ghana (72%), Morocco (71%), and Tunisia (70%), fewer than one in 20 citizens say the same in Lesotho (2%), Malawi (4%), Uganda (4%), and São Tomé and Príncipe (4%).
• Fully three-quarters (75%) of Africans say they worry “somewhat” (21%) or “a lot” (54%) about being unable to obtain or afford medical care when they need it, in addition to 14% who worry “a little.” Only 11% say they are not concerned (Figure 2).
• Seven in 10 citizens (70%) support the idea that government should ensure that all citizens have access to adequate health care, even if that means raising taxes (Figure 3).
  • Support for guaranteed universal access to health care reaches almost nine out of 10 citizens in Gabon (89%), Cabo Verde (88%), and Guinea (86%). Even in Mauritius and Morocco, the only surveyed countries where this is not the majority view, pluralities of 45% and 48%, respectively, are in agreement (Figure 4).

Afrobarometer surveys

Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life. Nine survey rounds in up to 42 countries have been completed since 1999. Round 10 surveys were launched in January 2024.

Afrobarometer’s national partners conduct face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice that yield country-level results with margins of error of +/-2 to +/-3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.