Health financing is one of the main pillars of the health care system and a decisive factor in its performance in terms of equity, efficiency, and quality. It requires collaboration between the government, donors, other partners and beneficiaries. In The Gambia, available statistics indicate that over 46.7% of total health funding comes from donors (international health development partners), which raises the challenges of sustainability and predictability of sector financing. In addition, the costs of providing health care continue to rise due to increasing demand, changes in diagnostic and therapeutic technologies, inflation and currency fluctuations. Therefore the main purpose is to facilitate resource mobilization, resource pooling and equitable distribution and efficient utilization of funds in The Gambia. In order to define roles and responsibilities for actors and stakeholders and to provide a framework for monitoring and evaluation, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has developed a Health Financing Policy (2017 – 2030) that provides a comprehensive analysis of the status quo, identifies key factors and formulates relevant strategies and approaches for successful implementation. The government’s efforts were accompanied by a WHO report in 2019, which analyses health financing options in the health sector and formulates efficient solutions to create a universal health insurance scheme for all Gambians. Finally, a Public Expenditure Review (PER) was launched in May 2020, combining measures to increase revenues, reduce spending in non-priority sectors and redistribute these savings to priority social sectors, such as the health care sector.
Detailed information on the The Gambia Public Expenditure Review of May 2020, the Health Financing Policy for 2017 – 2030 and the Report of WHO scoping mission on health financing options of November 2019 can be found in the related documents.
