In its most recent edition of the 2022 Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index (CRI Index), OXFAM, the British nongovernmental organization, congratulated Cyprus for increasing its health expenditure.
As indicated, some countries deserve credit for “significantly scaling up investment in health in recent years.” Cyprus has registered the greatest increase since the 2020 CRI, doubling health spending from 6.2% to 13.1% of total expenditure and in 2019 the government committed to universal health coverage with Gesy. Consequently, the report noted, these changes put the country in a stronger position to respond to COVID-19.
The CRI Index ranks 161 governments on their commitment to reducing inequality. It measures their policies and actions in three areas proven to have a major impact on reducing inequality: 1) public services (health, education, and social protection), where Cyprus holds the 44th position; 2) taxation, where Cyprus holds the 148th position; and 3) workers’ rights, where Cyprus holds the 20th position.
Norway leads the CRI in 2020, followed by Germany and Australia. All of the top 10 are wealthy OECD countries.
On the other hand, the bottom performers are all lower-income countries, many of which are (or have recently been) severely affected by internal conflict and political instability.