27
Jan

Urbanisation is reshaping global demographics, with over half the world now living in cities. While this transformation offers new opportunities, it also deepens health inequities—especially for the urban poor, who face overcrowded living conditions, insecure livelihoods, and limited access to essential services.  Despite health improvements, evidence shows growing disparities in health outcomes between the urban poor and other populations. Inadequate healthcare infrastructure and systemic barriers contribute to unequal access, high out-of-pocket spending,  and worsening multiple vulnerabilities in urban settings.

This session will explore how low-income urban households in selected countries of the Asia region seek care, the financial burdens they face, and how geographic and structural (such as governance) factors shape their access to healthcare.  Further, the session will review existing policies that alleviate or aggravate such inequities and discuss possible options that policymakers might like to consider to improve the urban health situation both inside and outside of health service systems.