During the COVID-19 pandemic, health spending—domestic and external—increased in most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) (136 countries), as governments sought to mitigate the devastating impacts of the pandemic on health and the economy. Development Assistance for Health also increased significantly (up by $13.7 billion or 35.7 percent )
However. failure to cope adequately with the new fiscal realities is likely to stunt recovery from the pandemic by harming the present and future provision of essential health services, further delay the progress and attainment of health-related Sustainable Development Goals, increase the burden placed on households through greater out-of-pocket payments, and undermine global health security efforts.
This blog discusses the main drivers of fiscal pressure and type of policies that relieve such pressures in LMICs to mitigate their negative impact on health.
Read the original full article by Y-Ling Chi, Sanjeev Gupta, Javier Guzman and Lydia Regan.
