0-14 Years
This group falls under the category of dependants. This category, in biological terms, is growing. Hence, their bodies are experiencing biological changes that are unprecedented. This change in body configuration means that there is a significant chance they might get diseases.
This group has a vulnerability to inherit diseases such as HIV/AIDS from parents. Therefore, governments and parents spend a considerable deal of their money to take care of this group. The food that infants eat is not the same as adults’. This requires that parents spend money to cater for their upkeep. Most governments have a responsibility to take care of this group of people.
Health expenditure and age are inversely proportional. This means that as kids grow up, their health improves because of the physical activities they engage in at school or at home. This is a global human trend. African countries fall victim to many calamities. This includes improper diet for children.
Malnutrition and lack of government care may come together to deny children proper growth. Illiteracy level in Africa is quite high. This means that mothers do not know what is right for their children. Culture and traditions also bog down efforts by the government to provide proper healthcare to this age group.
15-64 Years
This group of people constitutes the independent population in demographic terms. It is a working population. Health issues narrow down to a number of factors. Governments spend a fortune in this category to cater for generational growth.
This means it is only on maternity and pregnancy care that the government is responsible for this group. However, depending on the lifestyle people lead, there can be more health costs. Lifestyle diseases, such as hypertension, start at this age bracket. It is quite common in people aged between 45 and 70.
It is a common trend that most of the health issues that bedevil this age are self implicated. It depends on the lifestyle one leads. Careless living means that governments may spend so much money healing socially related disease. These diseases are as a result of social misdeeds like careless drinking. This is also true for unwarranted sexual behavior that leads to sexually transmitted disease.
Government expenditure on this group is not much. However, in a society where the social linen breaks, the government spends quite a fortune on health issues. This is true in South Africa and most African countries. Also, the government spends on awareness which adds onto the health budget. The activities that characterize the behavior of this age group, determine the subsequent spending of the country on health, in later years.
Over 65 Years
This is the group that enjoys sunset years. Because of its age, many diseases and lifestyle problems are age oriented. Some of the diseases may include memory loss, Alzheimer’s and fitness problems. Others may emanate from a poor lifestyle that the person leads in their earlier years.
Most governments spend a lot of money taking care of this dependent population. They live on pensions and the health budget, in most cases, falls in the governments’ docket. Sometimes they are a bother to the economy because they bog down budget allocations to other areas for their sake. Governments set up centers for the aged, where they are taken care of until death. This is if the family of the aged does not heed to that care.