This report provides a summary of findings and recommendations based on the Health Financing Progress Matrix assessment in Pakistan. In addition to identifying strengths and weaknesses in Pakistan’s health financing system, priority areas are highlighted in order to...
Colombia introduces junk food tax
Colombia has implemented a tax on ultra-processed foods, becoming one of the first countries in the Americas to take such a measure to tackle obesity, diabetes, and other lifestyle diseases.The Lancet reports that Colombia is one of the first to tax food high in salt...
Malaysia MOH Moots National Health Insurance With Employee, Employer, Government Contributions
Malaysia is exploring a national health insurance scheme funded by employees, employers, and the government that will be “run by the government, non-profit driven, and uses the philosophy of shared responsibility," says Dr Zaliha Mustafa, the Minister of...
The application of artificial intelligence in health financing: a scoping review
Scoping review explores AI applications in health financing and future potentials. AI enhances performance in governance, revenue raising, pooling, and strategic purchasing, guiding future policy and capacity development.Artificial Intelligence (AI) represents a...
Kenya: President signs four new healthcare bills into law
On 17 October, Kenya's President, William Ruto signed the four healthcare bills, Social Health Insurance Bill, Primary Health Care Bill, Facility Improvement Financing Bill, and Digital Health Bill into law after they were passed by the Parliament recently.The Social...
Nepal: National Health Financing Strategy 2023- 2033
The Government of Nepal has recently endorsed a new ten-year strategy for health financing with the aim of ensuring equitable financial management to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) in Nepal. The National Health Financing Strategy 2080- 2090 includes strategic...
New Alliance for HPSR/WHO supported BMJ series on Health Taxes
BMJ Global Health has published a series of research papers on health taxes in the October 2023 issue titled WHO: Health Taxes supported by the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research in collaboration with WHO Departments and the Inter-Agency Working Group on...
Stakeholders call for sustainable health financing at the Tanzania Health Summit
The 10th Tanzania Health Summit was held from 3-5 October in Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania under the theme, 'Strengthening health systems for UHC, focusing on Primary Health Care.'The conference saw participation from various stakeholders of the health sector in Tanzania...
Financing health system elements in Africa: A scoping review
A peer reviewed research article published in PLOS ONE tracks the data on types of health financing in Africa. Abstract Countries that are reforming their health systems to progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) need to consider total resource...
New WHO report outlines concrete steps to make health care more accessible for people in Ukraine
As illustrated here by WHO, around 2.5 million households in Ukraine experienced catastrophic health spending in 2021. This represents nearly 1 in 5 households – a share that is higher than in many other countries in the WHO European Region, according to a new report...
Sustainable financing for health: Forging a new path
Published in the World Bank Blog Series Investing in Health and authored by Mamta Murthi, the Vice President for Human Development at the World Bank, this blog lays emphasis on stronger domestic health financing and greater investment in health systems among others. ...
Global Health Talk 2023 Policy Brief: Financing Health for All in The Context of Scarcity
At the Global Health Talk 2023, Healthy DEvelopments and the Global Health Hub Germany launched a policy brief presenting the outcomes of a joint Catalyst Dialogue on “How to increase funding for health for all and spend existing funds more effectively". The Global...
Overview of health financing flows in Uganda
Tracking health financing resources is critical for ensuring the efficient use of resources as well as equitable distribution. This report documents the nature and magnitude of financial flows to Uganda’s health sector and the purchase of primary health care (PHC)...
Exploring debt swap as an innovative financing mechanism for the health sector in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone shows strong political leadership to explore the Debt Swap instrument and holds a workshop to discuss next steps with key stakeholders from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health and the Global FundSierra Leone is exploring innovative methods to...
Can Ethiopia finance the continued development of its primary health care system if external resources decline?
Originally published in 2018, this study utilized a projection model to assess Ethiopia's ability to sustain its primary care system in the face of decreasing external support. The study also examined the projected costs associated with primary healthcare delivery....