Inequality in the distribution and differential utilization of health services: a Botswana case study

The uneven provision of health care in a developing country, Botswana, is examined. Curative out-patient attendance and in-patient hospitalization rates were found to vary markedly for groups of the population living at different distances from health facilities. Those people living 10 miles or less from clinics and hospitals had far higher utilization rates than those living at further distances. If the disparity in service provision described is to be altered then the planning and development of health services should concentrate upon the provision of basic health care and adapt to the manpower and economic constraints within which such systems operate.