An overview of the new Iraqi Health Insurance Law
This Article aims to provide an overview of the recently issued Iraqi Health Insurance Law no. 22 of 2020 (the ‘Health Insurance Law’). It covers the entry into force, insurance coverage, financing of the healthcare insurance programme, and interaction with healthcare...
Adult diapers have been included under the UCS benefit package in Thailand
To reduce expenses of bed-ridden patients and their families, adult diapers or incontinence pads have been approved under the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) benefit package. The new benefit package provides three pieces of diapers per day per person and targets to...
Universal Health Insurance in Egypt: Informal Workers’ Perspective
Egypt is embarking on a new universal health insurance (UHI) system to cover all Egyptians by 2032, in line with the UHI law. When fully implemented, the system is expected to ensure quality health services and adequate levels of financial protection for all. UHI...
New document about the political economy of health financing reforms available on Zimbabwe country page
An article discussing the impact of the political economy on the effective implementation of health financing reforms to ensure Universal Health Coverage has been uploaded on the Zimbabwe country page. The article was recently published in the BMC international...
GFF organises a seminar on the institutionalisation of Zimbabwe’s Results Based Financing
In 2011, the Government of Zimbabwe in collaboration with the World Bank, initiated Results Based Financing (RBF) with the goal of increasing the availability, accessibility and utilisation of quality health care services. RBF is an example of strategic purchasing...
Seminar invitation: Institutionalization of Results-Based Financing: Lessons from Zimbabwe
The GFF with support from the World Bank has organised a seminar focusing on lessons learnt in institutionalizing Results Based Financing in Zimbabwe. Building on the ongoing discussion around mainstreaming results-based financing (RBF) in the health sector, this...
New document on equity of health financing in Indonesia is now available
In 2014, Indonesia launched a single payer national health insurance scheme or the JKN, expecting to cover the entire population by 2024. This study aims to assess the equity of the health financing system in Indonesia during 2015 – 2019 by analysing a secondary...
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...
Launching new knowledge product: An overview of Jordan’s social health protection reforms
From introducing health insurance for the Jordanian Armed Forces in 1963 to a full-fledged civilian health insurance programme amended as recently as January 2022, Jordan has come a long way in strengthening social health protection. The Jordan country page now...
New publication: WHO Step-by-step guide to conducting a cross-programmatic efficiency analysis
The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a diagnostic approach to enable countries to look across health programmes that are part of their health system to detect “cross-programmatic” inefficiencies. The approach uses applied health system analysis to unpack...
Webinar 3: Expanding social health protection coverage to the ‘missing middle’ populations in India
This is the third of the four-webinar series on Health Financing in India ( the 1st and 2nd webinars were held on August 18 and October 19, 2021, respectively) and is developed by health financing experts from ILO, WHO India, IHSC and ACCESS Health International....
Extending Social Health Protection in Lebanon: The role of national social security fund in achieving universal health coverage
This study explores possibilities for strengthening the Lebanese health insurance model and extending social health protection to uncovered workers, including those in the informal economy. The situation assessment analyses the health system and the health financing...
Oman MOH conducts workshop ‘Toward excellence and innovation in financial management in the Ministry of Health’
Oman’s Ministry of Health (MOH) conducted a three-day workshop titled ‘’Toward Excellence and Innovation in Financial Management’’ to discuss scientific methods for increasing the MOH fiscal space. Oman aims to get a high return on investing in people's...
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...
The Malawi parliament’s cluster committee on Health, HIV and Aids, and Nutrition pushes for an increase in health budget to ensure adequate financing for Universal Health Coverage.
In the budget presented by the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Sosten Gwengwe at the parliament earlier in March this year, the health sector was allocated the third-highest sectoral allocation behind education and agriculture, which amounts to about US$349...