Working with Nigerian Policymakers to Share Lessons on National Health Insurance
Health Systems 20/20 features Health economist Dr. Hong Wang and the Joint Learning Network's workshop "Expanding Coverage to the Informal Sector" held in Mombasa, Kenya in June 2011.
Health economist Dr. Hong Wang did not come to the “Expanding Coverage to the Informal Sector” workshop to share a chapter from his book—he came to empower others. National policymakers from 13 developing countries took center stage at the four-day workshop hosted by the Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage (JLN), sharing accomplishments and challenges to providing health coverage to poor and informal sector populations.
During the event in Mombasa, Kenya this June, Health Systems 20/20’s Dr.
Raising Revenue to Cover the Informal Sector
Different strategies for raising revenue to cover the informal sector
Panelists representing Ghana, Mali, Indonesia, Rwanda and the World Bank discussed the challenges of raising revenues for covering the informal sector at the JLN workshop session in Mombasa on June 7, 2011. Debated were the relative merits of different strategies for raising revenues such as general taxes, payroll taxes, special earmarked taxes, donor and community contributions.
During the June 7, 2011, JLN workshop session on raising revenue to cover the informal sector it emerged that most countries, in fact, utilize a mix of financing sources, although one source may be more dominant than the others. The financing source may also differ according to the population group(s) being targeted – thus payroll taxes tend to predominate when it concerns the formal sector, while a mix of sources is more relevant to cover the informal sector due to the many complexities of raising sufficient premium income from that sector and the large numbers who may not be able to pay premiums for themselves.
Engaging Informal Workers During Insurance Program Design
Advocating for women working in the informal economy to participate in the design of programs benefitting them
This blog was written by Frances Lund, Director, Social Protection at WIEGO and Senior Research Associate for the School of Development Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Ms. Lund will conduct a session titled "Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) Initiative" during the Expanding Coverage JLN Workshop in Mombasa, Kenya from June 6-10, 2011
On Wednesday, June 8th, 2011, I will conduct a session on Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) and our work with member-based organizations of poorer working people, especially women informal workers. WIEGO works to enable the voice of informal women workers – who are ‘the experts’ in terms of their own health needs and priorities – to be heard in different platforms.