We saw that even though this study's key comparison of unmarried and married women was in high poverty neighborhoods, the depth of impoverishment among the unmarried women seemed deeper.
The end of state subsidies, rapid inflation, higher taxes, widespread impoverishment and the decline of the middle class were especially evident in Antananarivo, as was the growing wealth of a tiny political and economic elite in the city.
There is some evidence stemming from econometric and demographic studies undertaken during the 1990s suggesting that widows face an increased mortality and higher levels of impoverishment.
Higher levels of impoverishment have been reported in other African countries especially those which, like Uganda, depend heavily on private health financing through out-of-pocket payments [ 41- 44].
Some studies highlight the association of having a household member suffering from a chronic disease with a significant increase in health care expenditure and a higher risk of impoverishment.
As highlighted by these data, a patient seeking medical care for RTI in India faces the consequence of being in a health system noted for incurring high OOP payments in both public and private hospitals, and for a higher risk of impoverishment at household level due to RTI-related spending [ 10, 11].
Failure of insurance markets may, therefore, be understood as contributing to two critical symptoms of the failure of the healthcare system in the absence of intervention: low rates of healthcare utilization and high rates of impoverishment among those who obtain care.
Hence, these costs are catastrophic for concerned households and suggest a high risk for impoverishment.
[ 7, 8] Ethnographic studies have further demonstrated high levels of impoverishment and social suffering faced by widows [ 1].
Comparison with the per capita GDP of $1600 PPP shows that these costs are catastrophic for the households concerned and suggest a high risk for impoverishment.
