The article “Health economics and vaccine financing in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: A needs assessment,” published in Vaccine by Elsevier, provides a comprehensive analysis of how health economics and financing are being applied in immunization programmes across...
Can Indonesia achieve universal health coverage? Organisational and financing challenges in implementing the national health insurance system
Indonesia’s Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (JKN) is one of the world’s largest single-payer health insurance systems, designed to provide equitable and affordable healthcare to over 280 million people. Since its inception in 2014, JKN has reached near-universal enrolment,...
Exploring the uptake of economic evaluation in Spanish reports positioning medicines for public reimbursement
Spain’s first pilot integrating economic evaluations into drug reimbursement decisions reveals progress, challenges, and lessons for the future. This study by Laura Vallejo-Torres, Juan Oliva-Moreno, and Félix Lobo examines how economic evaluations (EEs) were...
Estimates of non-communicable disease expenditure by disease phase, sex, and age group for all OECD countries
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) represent a growing share of global health expenditure, yet comparable data across countries remain scarce. Understanding how costs vary by disease phase, sex, and age group is critical for anticipating future health system needs and...
Catastrophic health expenditure among households with differently abled children and adolescents in Puducherry, India: a mixed-method study
Households caring for differently abled children often face unique financial and social challenges, with healthcare costs being one of the most significant burdens. The study Catastrophic health expenditure among households with differently abled children and...
The cost of inaction to strengthen the resilience of primary health care in Latin America and the Caribbean: a modelling study
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed deep vulnerabilities in primary health care (PHC) systems across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Fragile infrastructures, limited resources, and workforce shortages left millions at risk as essential services—such as immunizations,...
Smart health spending: How to make every peso count
In this document published by the Inter-American Development Bank in 2023, the question of how to guarantee health for the populations of Latin America at a time of global crisis is addressed. The authors propose an approach where not only should health spending be...
Japan’s emerging role in bridging immunisation gap and supporting global health
The sudden suspension of United States funding to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Gavi in 2025 has raised serious concerns for global immunisation programmes. Historically, US support has been instrumental in reducing child mortality and...
Financing and purchasing mechanisms of primary health care in Southeast Asia region: Findings from a scoping review
Primary health care (PHC) is recognized as the cornerstone of resilient health systems, yet financing it remains a persistent challenge in many parts of the world. In Southeast Asia, countries continue to prioritize PHC in policy commitments, but questions remain...
What’s next for sugar taxes?
As global rates of obesity, diabetes, and other non-communicable diseases continue to rise, governments are increasingly turning to fiscal policies as tools for improving public health. Among the most debated and widely adopted measures are sugar taxes—levies designed...
Why drugs fail health technology assessment: a comparative analysis of health technology assessment rejections across seven OECD countries
In their article published in Health Economics, Policy and Law by Cambridge University Press, Filippos Papadopoulos, Erica Visintin, Ilias Kyriopoulos, and Panos Kanavos explore the reasons why certain drugs fail health technology assessments (HTAs) across seven OECD...
Primary health care policy investments in the Latin America context: Health systems experiences from Brazil, Chile, and Colombia
Primary Health Care (PHC) is widely recognised as the cornerstone of equitable and resilient health systems, offering an essential route toward achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC). In Latin America, the persistence of deep social and health inequalities,...
The socioeconomic and health system determinants of financial protection indicators: a global systematic review (2008–2023)
Financial protection is a cornerstone of Universal Health Coverage, yet millions of households worldwide continue to face catastrophic or impoverishing health expenditures. Understanding who is most vulnerable is essential for designing equitable policies and...
No shortcuts to universal health coverage: lessons from accountability initiatives
Universal health coverage (UHC) has long been a global health priority, reaffirmed in multiple international commitments since 2015. Yet despite political momentum, progress has stalled, with 4.5 billion people still lacking access to essential health services and...
Government healthcare financing and dwindling oil prices: Any alternatives for OPEC countries?
In this article from 2023, Salem Al Mustanyir explores the effect of a fall in oil prices on healthcare financing in eight Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The analysis shows that in three of the eight countries, health financing did shift...
