Inequalities in health present a major obstacle to economic development. Deaton (1999: 6) describes health inequalities as 'deeply offensive, more so than the economic and social inequalities to which they are related', with their elimination presenting a major
focus of public health policy. Moreover, almost all countries in the region have politically committed themselves to ensuring equitable access to health care. The socio-economic right to health care is entrenched in a number of human rights instruments to which countries are signatory, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (article 25), the United Nations Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (article 12), the African Charter on Human and People's Rights (article 16), and a range of other international conventions (Ngwena, 2000: 5-9). As such, inequalities in health represent an important yardstick of progress towards development in general.