Health capabilities among Bamako young people, with special focus on acute malaria

Mathias Lerch, Université de Genève
Claudine E. M. Sauvain-Dugerdil, Université de Genève

Urbanisation is a major challenge for population health in Africa which has not deserved enough attention. This communication offers an analysis of health care behaviour and health incidence among young people in Mali's capital Bamako. Using Sen's (1999) capability approach, we analyze how inequalities in resource endowment are accentuated by inequalities in individual ability to access and convert these resources into health capabilities and, ultimately, health functionings. Our results from a retrospective survey highlight that access to modern health facilities is more important than personal health behaviour for reducing inequality in health. In particular, the lesser access of women to modern facilities, explains to a great extent their poorer health situation. Moreover, we found surprisingly larger inequalities in acute malaria compared to general health incidences.