Iran will reportedly receive $90 million from the World Bank for measures to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. The loan will be utilized only for procuring additional lifesaving, essential medical equipment to strengthen Iran's pandemic response. In May 2020, the World...
Socio-demographic predictors of willingness to pay for premium of national health insurance: A cross-sectional survey of six districts in Sierra Leone
The government of Sierra Leone has been exploring the introduction of a social health insurance scheme as a measure to remove financial barriers that put households at a risk of impoverishment in accessing health care. This study was conducted to find out the...
Sierra Leone to increase domestic health funding in 2022 by $5.9m as donor funds shrink
The government of Sierra Leone plans to increase domestic funding to the health sector by US$5.9 million in 2022 as the sector will be experiencing massive cuts in the area of budget support by bilateral partners. For the health sector, the country has increased...
Kenya receives 4 million USD for syringe manufacturing
Amid looming shortfalls of syringes to administer COVID-19 vaccine, Kenya’s leading medical supply manufacturer, Revital Healthcare (EPZ) Ltd has received 4 million USD from development partners. This will help expand production of...
Examining health facility financing in Kenya in the context of devolution
The performance of public health facilities depends on purchasing arrangements, and mechanisms used to finance their operations. How public healthcare facilities are financed can affect health system goals in several ways. For example, the reliability of sources of...
Drivers of outpatient care costs incurred by Kenyan households
An estimated 1.48 million people in Kenya are pushed into poverty every year because of out-of-pocket (OOP) and outpatient health expenses. Kenyans from poor households are the most vulnerable and experience economic hardship each time an OOP payment is necessary....
The progress in addressing financial risk in Uganda; Analysis of catastrophe and impoverishment due to health payments
In this study, the researchers monitor the progress that Uganda has made in ensuring financial risk protection to attain universal health coverage (UHC) as a signatory to the sustainable development goals. Monitoring progress towards UHC requires tracking of progress...
Botswana ministry of health requires USD 97 million for COVID-19 response
The ministry of health and wellness, Botswana, requires an additional funding of USD 97 million as additional funding to cover the procurement of medical supplies, mainly vaccines and associated medical items such as syringes, needles and surgical masks. The fund...
New documents available on Kenya country page
New documents on drivers of outpatient care costs incurred by households and health facility financing in Kenya in the context of devolution have been uploaded to the documents section of the Kenya country page. The documents can be downloaded from...
New documents on health financing and financial risk protection available on Uganda country page
New documents on health financing and financial risk protection have been uploaded to the documents section of the Uganda country page. The documents can be downloaded from the related documents link below
Uganda: Development partners call for increased funding to health
Several development partners including WHO, UNHCR, CDC, SIDA, USAID among others met with the Uganda parliamentary committee on health in November 2021 where they discussed issues affecting the county’s health sector. Among the issues that were discussed, the...
Health financing for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): a systematic review
The world health organisation defines UHC as everyone having access to required health services of high quality without suffering financial hardship. UHC is embedded within the 3.8 target of sustainable development goals. To attain the UHC goal, there is need for...
Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and the Abuja declaration: Honouring the pledge
The 2001 Abuja declaration is a pledge by the African Union member states to allocate at least 15% of their national budgets each year to improving their healthcare systems. However, for the countries in the SADC, fulfilling this pledge has been a challenge. Having...
Japan braces itself against the COVID-19 pandemic with the largest ever budget for 2022
Japan's cabinet has approved a record ¥107.60 trillion budget for 2022 to fight against the pandemic and increasing social security costs. Social security spending is more than a third of the overall budget to address the medical needs of the aging population. The...
Out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures: Determinants and impacts on the livelihoods of urban households in selected Sudanese states
Understanding the characteristics of individuals or households that are most at risk of incurring catastrophic health expenditures could help in targeted policies to ensure financial risk protection among the most vulnerable. Researchers in Sudan investigated the...