Health Services: Accessibility, Affordability, and Acceptability - Best Practices from Three Continents

Approximately half of the global population lacks access to essential health services that many individuals consider routine. This challenge is universal, as are the obstacles impeding people from obtaining necessary care. These obstacles can be categorized into three dimensions: accessibility, affordability, and acceptability.

Accessibility refers to the extent to which individuals can obtain healthcare services when needed.

Affordability pertains to the capacity of individuals to bear the costs associated with medical services, including direct expenses for treatment and indirect costs such as transportation, time off work, or accompaniment, without incurring financial distress.

Acceptability involves patients' perceptions of a particular medical service and their willingness to seek and receive it based on cultural, social, and personal factors.

Drawing on best practices from Africa (Rwanda), Asia (India), and Europe (Austria and Switzerland), this paper explores these three dimensions and evaluates relevant strategies to address them.