The Week in Headlines
UHC Forward's Weekly Roundup of Headlines from Around the Globe
Week of October 21, 2013 - Governments around the world are engaging in serious political and technical discussions on how to expand health coverage. Still others are considering such reforms, but are struggling to navigate the legal, financial, and political frameworks of their countries to determine the best path towards universal health coverage (UHC).
Below is a list of UHC-related headlines from around the world. If you are viewing this on the web and would prefer to receive The Week in Headlines in your inbox every week, subscribe to the email edition.
COUNTRY HEADLINES
Gabon
Single Universal Healthcare System Introduced In Gabon: A single, universal health care system that will eventually serve Gabon’s entire population is steadily expanding its coverage.
India
Hospitals, Out-of-pocket and Out of Reach: India’s healthcare is affordable, we’re told now and then, even through development statistics tell a different story. Less than 10% people in India have some form of health insurance. Hospitalisations account for about 58% of an average Indian’s total annual expenditure. Over 40% people borrow heavily or sell assets to cover hospitalisation expenses, which forces 39 million people into poverty each year, shows World Bank data.
Namibia
Is Universal Health Cover Possible?: The Social Security Commission (SSC) will host the second universal health coverage (UHC) consultative workshop at the end of this month.To be held under the theme: "Achieving UHC in Namibia using domestic resources: the way ahead and the role of HIFTAC", the one-day workshop is a follow-up to the first Namibia NHI (Namibia Health Insurance) workshop held in September 2011.
Nigeria
Nigeria Health Ministry Encourages Communities to Pilot own Health Insurance Schemes: The Federal Ministry of Health on Wednesday encouraged Nigerians to engage in piloting health insurance schemes for their communities.
FCTA Commences Health Insurance Scheme in 300 Communities: The Federal Capital Territory Administration has commenced the implementation of its Community Based Health Insurance Scheme (CBHIS) in 300 communities of the FCT, Olajumoke Akinjide, the honourable minister of State for FCT, has disclosed.
HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE GLOBE
British Medical Journal
Universal Health Coverage: A Policy Whose Time has Come: This article can be purchased on the British Medical Journal website.
Health Harmonization Community of Practice
The Role of PBF to Achieve UHC and to Build Bridges to Insurance Systems: An interesting debate on universal health coverage is taking place in the Health Harmonization Community of Practice. The below comment is by Robert Soeters and Godelieve van Heteren with comments from Frank van de Looij of Sina Health in reaction to the exciting debate.
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
Brazil & Thailand experiences of successfully achieving #UHC may contain valuable lessons: Jeremy Lim’s book Myth Or Magic, is a lucid, highly readable, frank and balanced treatise on the Singapore health-care system. In it, he devotes 10 pages to a discussion of an important issue: What lessons does the Singapore experience offer to the world? This is an important question. But it is also important to turn the question on its head and ask: What lessons can the world offer Singapore?
Next Billion
We Have Seen the Future, and It's Universal: Single-payer systems being penciled onto BoP health care’s ‘blank slate’.Speaking at a Tuesday plenary on best practices, roadblocks and next steps in health care, panelist Gina Lagomarsino, managing director of Results for Development, said, “There’s a growing belief that systems that rely on direct, out-of-pocket expenditures lead to inequities. … They just don’t work very well.”
The Rockefeller Foundation
Moving Kenya Towards Universal Health Coverage: The Kenyan Constitution states that every Kenyan has a right to quality and affordable health care, and recognizes the role of the government in removing barriers to access. This was recently affirmed in Sessional Paper No. 7 of 2012 on Universal Health Care. The Kenya government’s commitment to providing health care for all of its citizens is clearly moving in the right direction, an inherited challenging health system and dissatisfied workforce notwithstanding.
STEPS Centre
Beyond Scaling Up: Pathways to Universal Access to Health Services: This paper explores different narratives for understanding the challenge of managing major health system change in low and middle-income countries.
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