Universal Health Coverage in Benin: A political commitment, significant progress
Significant progress has been made towards universal health coverage (UHC) in Benin. The government is continuing its efforts to make access to essential health services a reality for all Beninese. Since April 2016, the Beninese authorities have been committed to...
Tackling health and climate change in Tuvalu
At the Second Asia Pacific Health Financing Forum in 2024, Pelesala Kaleia, Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in Tuvalu, highlighted the visible impacts of climate change on the health of the people in Tuvalu. She emphasized the emergence...
Rising out-of-pocket health expenditure in Bangladesh
The Health Economics Unit of the Directorate General of Health Services under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare of Bangladesh reports that out-of-pocket health expenditure in the country has been on the rise, reaching around 69 per cent in 2020. This has...
Insurance for Migrant Workers from South and Southeast Asia
The authors discuss the important topic of healthcare access for migrant workers, who face numerous health challenges when working abroad. Migrant workers often lack access to healthcare or the means to pay for it, leading to significant barriers such as cost, lack of...
Health ministry proposes to enhance insurance coverage for cancer and stroke
The Vietnam's Ministry of Health (MoH) has unveiled new amendments on the Law on Health Insuranc to provide full coverage for patients diagnosed with rare or serious conditions, including cancer, stroke and paralysis. According to Vietnam News, the Vietnam's Ministry...
Belgium’s support for social health protection in sub-saharan Africa: A case study
Belgium is supporting social health protection in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Senegal, by establishing insurance systems that aim to improve healthcare access for informal sector workers even in challenging low-income settings.Belgium, through its development...
Member State Session on Revising SDG UHC Indicators 3.8.1 & 3.8.2
WHO reviews proposed revisions to SDG UHC indicators 3.8.1 & 3.8.2, potentially altering a decade of financial protection data. On 21 August 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) organised an information session for Member States to discuss the revision of...
R4D strengthens health policy and systems research ecosystem in Asia
R4D's Health Systems Strengthening Accelerator is enhancing health policy and systems research (HPSR) in Asia by building a stronger ecosystem to translate evidence into policy action. R4D, through the Health Systems Strengthening Accelerator, is working to empower...
A flourishing social security system in Monaco
Monaco enjoys particularly advantageous social protection thanks to the Caisse de Compensation des Services Sociaux (CCSS), financed entirely by employers. This scheme, inspired by the French social security model, was introduced after the Second World War, in 1944....
Joint SDG Fund: Social health protection in Albania and Cambodia
Albania and Cambodia are advancing social health protection and employment initiatives through joint programmes supported by the Joint SDG Fund, with a focus on fostering inclusion and universal health coverage.In Cambodia, the Joint SDG Fund is driving key reforms to...
Extension of free health care in Burkina Faso
The Minister of Health, Robert Jean-Claude Lucien Kargougou, announced on Monday August 12, 2024 that in addition to pregnant women and children under five, treatment for serious accidents, chronic and severe illnesses will be free in Burkina Faso by 2025. " In...
Workshop on the implementation of collective action initiatives as part of the implementation of the CSU
From August 21 to 22, 2024, a workshop was held to assess the implementation of Collective Action Initiatives (CAI) in Cameroon as part of the implementation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). The conclave brought together members of the L4UHC group in Mbankomo in...
Bujumbura International Mutualist Conference: February 3-4, 2025
The Bujumbura International Mutualist Conference will be held on February 3 and 4, 2025. A number of experts will be meeting to discuss the theme: "Objective of universal health and social protection in Africa - Relying on mutuals as key players in the social and...
US government program potentially saves Medicare program billions in pharma
In August, 2024 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid finalized negotiations to reduce the prices paid for 10 pharmaceuticals. Price negotiations with pharmaceutical companies focused on 10 of Medicare’s costliest drugs. Medicare provides health insurance coverage for...
Additional health budget approved
The Congress of the Republic approved additional resources to be allocated to the Ministry of Health for the strengthening of the national network of oncology services.Within the framework of Article 38 of the Law for Comprehensive Cancer Care in Guatemala of March...