Citizens' perceptions in this analysis suggest a number of barriers to health-care access and utilization across the eight African countries studied. On average, across the 8 countries, Afrobarometer fieldworkers did not find health facilities in about 40% of all the enumeration areas (EA) included in the survey. Generally, across the 8 countries, about 34% of the respondents reported that they "could not have contact" for health care when there needed it. Among those who accessed health care

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... ring the previous year, a cumulative 31% found it "difficult" or "very difficult" to get the care they needed. Averagely, only 14% of all the respondents surveyed indicated that they obtained their needed medical care " right way" implying that a significant proportion of people wasted "longer time" prior to receiving their health care needs. Close to half (46%) of citizens in the eight countries noted that their governments were performing "fairly badly" or "very badly" as far as improving basic health services were concerned with only 10% of the citizens said their government were performing very well. In all the 8 countries tracked since 2005, negative evaluations of their governments have increased by about 13 percentage points over the past decade. Therefore, governments in the African sub-region need to enhance their efforts to promote accessibility to basic health care services which is a fundamental human right enshrined in the Alma-Ata Declaration.