During her speech at the 75th World Health Assembly, Dr. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, the Minister of health stated that the State of Qatar, under the present government was able to address the challenges of COVID-19 successfully due to a comprehensive, whole...
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...
Beyond the pandemic: strengthening Somalia’s health system
The Somalia government is leading reforms in strengthening its health system to effectively deliver health care services beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the main reforms that the government is considering is the introduction of the Essential Package of Health...
Nigeria gets over three million doses of COVID-19 vaccine
In April, 2022 the Nigeria government received 3,002,400 doses of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccines. Speaking at the handover ceremony in Abuja, the executive director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Faisal Shuaib, said the...
Indonesia government to gradually reduce COVID treatment subsidies
Due to the downward trend of COVID-19 cases, the Indonesia government will slowly stop subsidizing the treatment costs of COVID-19 patients. The source of funding for COVID-19 treatment will be shifted from the government to the national health insurance program or...
Re-learning through the pandemic: India’s COVID-19 health financing response
Authors: Grace Achungura, Technical Officer (Health Financing for UHC-HCF), WHO Country Office, India Rahul Reddy, Health Systems & Financing Expert, India Mita Choudhury, Associate Professor, National Institute of Public Finance & Policy Jaidev Anand,...
How China controls the COVID-19 epidemic through public health expenditure and policy
This paper aimed to explore how the Chinese government controls the COVID-19 epidemic from the perspective of public health expenditure and policy. Findings showed that public health expenditure and policy played an important role in the governance and control of the...
New document on the COVID-19 epidemic and public health expenditure in China is now available
This paper aimed to explore how the Chinese government controls the COVID-19 epidemic from the perspective of public health expenditure and policy. Findings showed that public health expenditure and policy played an important role in the governance and control of the...
Turkey’s healthcare investment proved its capacity amid outbreak: Presidential Communications Directorate
The Turkish government has been investing in the healthcare sector for years to improve its capacity, and these investments have been paying off in the fight against the coronavirus, Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said on...
Japan provides cash handouts to low-income households under an emergency relief package
The Japanese government has decided to provide newly cash-strapped households ¥100,000 (USD 774) to low-income households whose income is fallen in recent years. These cash handouts are provided as a part of an emergency relief package. The source of financing will...
South Africa’s COVID-19 response Gets a $750 million boost
On 20 January 2022, the South African Government received a low-interest Development Policy Loan (DPL) of $750 million from the World Bank Group to support its efforts to accelerate the COVID-19 response aimed at protecting the poor and vulnerable from the adverse...
Singapore approves S$6 billion to continuously support the COVID-19 public health expenditure
Singapore approves S$6 billion from past reserves to fund a “multi-pronged approach”, aiming to continue supporting COVID-19 public health expenditure for financial year 2022. Despite preparing for a new normal transition, Singapore still considers that it is not yet...
Japan pledges $500 million for global vaccine-sharing efforts
Japan is one of the major contributors in funding initiatives for vaccines. Japan will contribute up to $500 million to U.N.-backed efforts to ensure equal access to COVID-19 vaccines especially among lower-income countries. The collaboration is co-hosted by Gavi, a...
Australia’s health budget tops $132bn for 2022-23
Australia's health budget will exceed $132bn for 2022-23, which increased from $62bn for a decade ago due to a rise of healthcare expenditures, the expansion of the pharmaceutical benefits scheme, the Covid-19 response and the addition of $2.3bn over four years for...
Somalia economic update: Investing in health to anchor growth
The sixth edition of the World Bank Somalia economic update series made several policy recommendations that would set the country up for economic recovery. These include; Investing in health and social safety nets would help improve health outcomes and human capital...