Households
17th October 2018: International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
Severe material deprivation has consequences for health and access to health care.
Poverty has a severe impact on the health and on the access to health care for persons in a situation of severe material deprivation:
- 43 % of them have a chronic disease or a chronic health problem
- 19 % have not been to the doctor in the last 12 months and 53 % have not been to the dentist
- 79 % of materially deprived households consider the cost of medicines as a medium or significant financial burden
This is shown in figures from the survey on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) by Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, conducted in 2017 among 6,000 Belgian households. Through this survey, harmonised at European level, the major evolutions with regard to poverty and social exclusion are followed.