$663mln spent to combat COVID-19 pandemic in Bahrain
Bahrain spent an estimated BD250 million on healthcare measures related to the coronavirus (Covid-19) in the last two years. It includes the amount for treatment, testing, facemasks, gloves and vaccines among others. The country is working towards achieving the...
Two documents added to the Jordan country page
The Jordan country page has recently added two new strategy papers. A high-level review by USAID’s Health Finance and Governance Activity, of the process in the public health system in Jordan, identify key areas such as benefits package design and mixed provider...
What the 620 million UAD increase in the Israeli budget will contribute to
Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz received his requested boost of two billion shekels ($621 million) for the Health Ministry budget, amounting to a total of 45 billion shekels ($13.9 billion) next year. The budget increase will not bring Israel’s health system...
Webinar: Health financing in FCAS: when humanitarian concerns dominate
Many regions and countries are now facing emergencies, acute and chronic, with challenges to security, political settlements and health security. These demand new approaches to health financing that learn from developmental and humanitarian approaches and explore...
Mandatory for employers to buy primary care plan for migrant workers in Singapore from Apr 1
To enable affordable health care and financial risk protection among migrant workers in Singapore, employers are mandated to buy primary care plans for migrant workers as part of their work pass requirements, effective on April 1. The new regulation will be applied to...
Brunei’s health budget in the financial year 2022/23 has increased by 1.2%
Brunei’s Legislative Council members have approved BND 391,937,883 for the Ministry of Health (MOH) in the financial year 2022/2023. The allocated budget has increased by 1.2% from the previous year. The budget theme for MOH in the financial year 2022/2023...
WEBINAR #1 on Social Health Protection and Health Financing Reforms in the CIS
Join us as at we exchange knowledge and regional perspectives of Social health protection and health financing reforms in Commonwealth of Independent States. Our panelists will exchange lessons learned, key achievements, and progress made toward social health...
Accessible and affordable COVID-19 self-test kits in Thailand
To ensure affordable and accessibility of the COVID-19 testing, the National Health Security Office (NHSO) board has decided to introduce an option by which health units can purchase the self-test kits and claim the cost from the NHSO. They can request 55 baht per...
New document on analysis of out-of-pocket expenditure in rural Sri Lanka is now available
Sri Lanka provides health care service free-of-charge, including maternal health care. This study aimed to examine the magnitude of and factors associated with out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPs) during the first prenatal clinic visit by pregnant women in Anuradhapura...
New document on payment mechanism for institutional births in Nepal is now available
Since 2005, Nepal government has implemented Maternity Incentive Scheme (MIS) to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPs) for institutional birth. This study aimed to assess MIS coverage in Nepal and OOPs among women who had institutional births. Findings showed...
Delivering a comprehensive and sustainable Universal Health Insurance (UHI) in the autonomous region of Zanzibar (Tanzania)
To strengthen the healthcare system of Zanzibar, the government of Zanzibar is in the process of introducing Universal Health Insurance (UHI) that over time can cover the entire population, as the main social health protection and financing scheme in the country. The...
Follow-up to the 5th WHO Montreux Collaborative meeting
Following up to the 5th WHO Montreux Collaborative meeting, a meeting report which provides an overview of the agenda, speakers, and detailed summaries of the technical sessions including the Q&A discussions was recently published. The draft meeting...
Kazakhstan is centralizing procurement of medical equipment to save costs
According to the press service of the Prime Minister, Kazakhstan is preparing the Program for medical equipment, where funding sources will be defined for each equipment type and public health care providers who are supposed to get the equipment with...
To contain costs, Kazakhstan’s Government is capping expenses for hospital construction
Under the State Health Development Program for years 2020-2025, adopted in 2019 and reframed into a National Project "Healthy Nation" in 2021, Kazakhstan has planned to build 20 large hospitals to replace multiple existing worn-out hospitals accross the country....
The Philippines 2022 national budget secured free COVID-19 testing
The Philippines has allocated P17.85 billion under the 2022 national budget for Covid-19 testing, aiming to ensure affordability and accessibility to the tests among its population. The funds will be allocated to the state laboratories so that more free tests...