Nepal rolls out COVID-19 vaccination for people living with disabilities
Nepal has started to vaccinate people with disabilities across the country against the coronavirus with the Johnson & Johnson single-shot jab. All differently-abled individuals with either their citizenship card or disability ID card are eligible for the J&J...
Japan considers a second COVID-19 payment to vulnerable households
The Japan government is considering to provide monthly payments for needy households to help ease the financial strain due to COVID-19 pandemic. Considering monthly payments are ¥60,000 for single-member households, ¥80,000 for two-person...
Sudan to benefit from a US100 million grant to boost COVID-19 Response
The Government of Sudan signed a grant agreement of US$100 million to boost the country’s COVID-19 response and expand vaccination coverage in the country. This is the first grant from the International Development Association (IDA) following the arrears...
Indonesia will increase social and health spending in response to COVID-19
Indonesia will increase social assistance and healthcare spending in response to a rise of COVID-19 cases and to soften the economic recession due to tougher restrictions. 126.79 trillion rupiah (US$8.72 billion) of social assistance will be provided to...
Thailand will provide antigen tests free to consumers
National Health Security Office (NHSO) plans to purchase more than 8.5 million antigen test kits and hand them to Thais and migrant workers for free. The plan was endorsed by the NHSO board chaired by Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, during...
Sudanese returning migrants to access health insurance
In an effort to achieve universal health coverage, the government of Sudan signed an EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration which ensures that Sudanese returnees access healthcare under the country’s National Health Insurance...
Zimbabwe gets $13.7 million to strengthen health system and boost anti-COVID-19 efforts
The government of Zimbabwe has received a grant of US$13.7 million to finance the COVID-19 response in the country. The funds are expected to provide an immediate lifeline for targeted frontline responders and health personnel and boost the country’s Global Health...
Health Insurance as a Healthcare Financing Mechanism in India: Key Strategic Insights
Both central and state governments have introduced various health insurance programmes to improve protection against catastrophic health expenditure. Private voluntary insurance has also grown in terms of lives covered and premiums collected during the last decade....
Women Left Behind: Gender Disparities in Utilization of Government Health Insurance in India
A recent study conducted by Pascaline Dupas & Radhika Jain, published in June 2021, reports gender disparities within the Bhamashah Swasthya Bima Yojana (BSBY), a government health insurance program that targets 46 million poor individuals in Rajasthan, India. The...
Optimizing the use of existing pooled government funds for better health outcomes in India
India’s health care system underperforms its low- and middle-income peers. It has been seen that countries in South Asia with lower PPP-adjusted GDPs per capita have delivered better health outcomes than India has. And in terms of financial protection, Indian...
Examining reasons behind market failure in health insurance
Deepti Bhaskaran is a Senior Journalist with over 15 years of experience. She specialises in personal finance and looks closely into the insurance and pension space. Being a low-middle income country, the health expenditure in India is amongst the lowest at 3.54 per...
Revisiting Ayushman Bharat Scheme: Win-win or win-lose?
Disha Bhanot, Assistant Professor at SP Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai writes about how COVID-19 has exposed the dark underbelly of our healthcare system and health insurance schemes may have little chance of achieving sustained benefits. With an...
New blog on Policy and Implementation Insights on Provider Payment Reforms of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation
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New blog on Implementing UHC in the Philippines: Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty?
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Malawi: Govt reaffirms its commitment to universal health coverage (UHC)
The Minister of Health and Population Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda has reiterated the government's commitment to delivering quality health services in line with the UHC strategies. At an opening ceremony of a new theatre at Dedza District...