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Greek austerity policies continue to drive poor public health outcomes
Austerity measures in Greece continue to seriously affect public health, with increased rates of infectious disease, mental health diagnoses and infant mortality, according to new study results.
“[These data reveal] that the Greek welfare state has failed to protect people at a time they needed support the most,” study researcher Alexander Kentikelenis, a PhD student at Cambridge University, said in a press release. “A rapidly growing number of Greeks are losing access to health care from budget cuts and unemployment.”
According to the researchers, austerity policies in Greece resulted in the largest set of cutbacks to the health sector in Europe, capping public expenditure at 6% of gross domestic product.
In 2010 — during the first year of austerity — one-third of street work programs had been eliminated, and the number of condoms distributed to the public declined by 10% and syringes by 24%. This led to an increase of new HIV infections among injection drug users from 15 in 2009 to 484 in 2012. New evidence suggests that tuberculosis more than doubled from 2012 to 2013.
Besides the rising incidence of infectious disease, mental disorders and suicide became more prevalent in Greece. According to Kentikelenis and colleagues, public funding for mental health services had decreased 55% from 2011 to 2012. These cuts overlapped with an increase in the use of public mental health services of 120% during the past 3 years. The prevalence of major depression — for which economic hardship was cited as a “major risk factor” — increased 2.5 times between 2008 and 2011, from 3.3% to 8.2%. In addition, attempted suicides increased by 36% from 2009 to 2011, and suicide deaths by 45% from 2007 to 2011.
Austerity in Greece also affected children’s health, the researchers said. The most recent data suggest that the number of low birth weight babies increased 19% from 2008 to 2010. Also, reduced access to prenatal health services may have contributed to a 21% increase in stillbirths between 2008 and 2011. Infant mortality increased 43% in the span of 2 years.
According to study researcher David Stuckler, PhD, MPH, a senior researcher at the University of Oxford, political leaders have failed to acknowledge austerity’s deleterious effect on public health outcomes.
“The Greek government — along with their European partners — appears to have been in denial about austerity’s severe impact on health,” Stuckler said in a press release. “The cost of austerity is being borne mainly by ordinary Greek citizens, who have been affected by the largest cutbacks to the health sector seen across Europe in modern times. We hope this research will help the Greek government mount an urgently needed response to these escalating human crises.”
However, the researchers noted two recent developments that may help reverse some of the damage caused by austerity policies. The first is a signed agreement between the Greek government and WHO to plan health sector reforms. The second improvement is a new health voucher program, funded by the European Union, which will cover an additional 230,000 beneficiaries.
Moving forward, Greece should note the experiences of other countries, namely Iceland and Finland, which have overcome financial crises without resorting to such drastic cuts to public health spending, according to Kentikelenis and colleagues.
“The foundations for a well-functioning health care system need structures for comprehensive accountability, effective coordination and performance management, and use of the skills of health care professionals and academics — not denialism,” they wrote. “The people of Greece deserve better.”
Disclosure: Kentikelenis provided technical advice to WHO on the provision of health care to those without insurance in Greece.