New document on National Health Accounts for Fiji is now available
The National Health Accounts report for Fiji provides health expenditures information for the period of 2011-2015 and tracks health expenditures from financing sources to health services and beneficiaries. An average of 9% of total government expenditure funded the...
Inclusive social protection in Mali: launch of the WSM-DGD 2022 2026 program
On June 17, 2022, the international Network for Social Protection Rights (Insp!r-Mali), in partnership with Belgian organizations, officially launched the WSM/DGD program for the period 2022-2026 in the area of the right to social protection. The INSPIR-Mali network,...
Saudi Arabia: Saudi National Health Insurance Center offers free insurance coverage to all citizens
Saudi Arabia's National Health Insurance Center will provide free insurance for those covered by government health services in the Kingdom, said Mohammed Al-Abdulaali, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health. Al-Abdulaali said that the health transformation and the...
WEBINAR – Extending financial protection to underserved and socially excluded populations
Health inequalities are systematic differences in the health status of population groups; social factors such as education, employment status, income level, gender and ethnic origin influence an individual's health[1]. It is important to address health inequalities,...
Mali-RAMED: 3 million people to be registered by 2022
After Bamako and Sikasso, the Minister of Health and Social Development Mrs Dieminatou SANGARÉ proceeded, in the town of Kayes, this Friday June 17, 2022 to the the launch ceremony for the enrolment of three (3) million indigents. This policy of helping the needy part...
Qatar Healthcare Services Law No. 22 of 2021 effective as of 4 May 2022
In Qatar, the Healthcare Services Law No. 22 of 2021 (the Insurance Law) has become effective as of 4 May 2022. The Insurance Law is of material significance to companies established in the State of Qatar seeing that it introduces a mandatory health...
Government says new taxes are needed to fund South Africa’s coming National Health Insurance
The National Health Insurance (NHI) Deputy Director General Nicholas Crisp presented the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Bill to the Parliament the first week of June, 2022. In his speech he indicated that the government will ultimately need to collect...
Singapore’s COVID-19 treatment subsidies to be scaled back in July
Due to a progressively return to normal, from July 1, Singapore will scale back the government subsidies for COVID-19 treatment and return to previous health financing schemes: Government Subsidies, MediSave, MediShield Life and MediFund (S+3Ms). The subsidized...
Bangladesh’s health budget will be increased 13% for fiscal year 2022-23
To ensure healthcare access during the pandemic and strengthen the vaccination system, Tk 36,863 crore (USD 3,966 million) will be funded to the health sector for fiscal year 2022-23. The allocation of the health budget will be increased approximately 13 percent from...
Assessing the feasibility and appropriateness of introducing a National Health Insurance Scheme in Malawi
Malawi’s interest in social health insurance dates back to 2011 as a means to reduce donor dependency and increase domestic resource mobilization for health. In May 2015 the Malawian Ministry of Health (MOH) contacted one of its external partners to conduct an...
Decomposing socio-economic inequality in catastrophic out-of-pocket health expenditures in Malawi
Socio-economic inequality in out-of-pocket health expenditures entails disparities in the burden of catastrophic health expenditures which worsens inequalities in access to and utilization of health services. Addressing the factors contributing to the inequalities is...
Strategies for financing social health insurance schemes for providing universal health care: a comparative analysis of five African countries (Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Tanzania)
Social health insurance is increasingly being considered as a mechanism for providing financial protection and moving towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC). In recent years there has been a political will and interest to explore the implementation of National Health...
Governance factors that affect the implementation of health financing reforms in Tanzania: an exploratory study of stakeholders’ perspectives
Tanzania has been reforming health financing policies to expand health insurance coverage and achieve better access to quality healthcare for all. Recent reforms have included improved community health funds (iCHFs). Other reforms that are underway include the...
Examining the level and inequality in health insurance coverage in 36 sub- Saharan African countries
Many low/middle-income countries (LMICs) are increasingly prioritising UHC and reforming their health systems to accelerate progress to achieve this target. To reduce the financial burden of care and improve financial risk protection, many of these countries are...
Health financing reforms in Uganda: dispelling the fears and misconceptions related to introduction of a National Health Insurance Scheme; Comment on “Health coverage and financial protection in Uganda: a political economy perspective”
In this paper, the authors provide a contextual and political-economic analysis of health financing reforms in Uganda and in particular dispelling the fears and misconceptions related to introduction of a National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). The path to health...