Table 1 Policy implications

Background

The time required to travel to healthcare facilities influences whether individuals seek care when it is needed. This relationship is most problematic in low-income settings, where long travel times are also associated with higher relative transport costs.

Main findings and limitations

We produce the first high-resolution global maps of travel time to hospitals and clinics. The results show that 91.1% of the world’s population can reach a hospital or clinic within an hour if they have access to motorized transportation, but only 56.7% can do so by walking. The maps were made by combining healthcare facility location data from world-leading sources and recently published research, but the accuracy and completeness of the facility list remain potential limitations.

Policy implications

Policymakers may benefit from maps showing travel time to healthcare facilities as these highlight areas most in need of additional personnel and resources. By increasing the efficiency of resource allocation, the maps could help increase health equity without requiring additional resources. Critically, by freely providing the tools to make custom maps of travel time, we also enable public health professionals to characterize accessibility to specialized services such as emergency care.