Health Financing: A Global Health Necessity
11.06.2018
Currently, over one billion people around the world are unable to access the basic primary healthcare they need. Common reasons for this inability to access healthcare include unavailability of care, poor quality of care, limited number of healthcare providers and high cost of healthcare. The high cost of healthcare particularly presents a significant barrier because an estimated 100 million people are forced into poverty yearly when they pay out-of-pocket for health services. Â When more people become poor, income inequality and other inequities across the world increase- the very problems that public and global health are trying to solve. To avoid these systemic problems, which are social determinants of health, an all-encompassing global vigorous health financing systems must be created to achieve universal health coverage (UHC).
Healthcare financing is a system of providing prepaid collective funds for the delivery of vital health services to prevent placing unnecessary financial burdens on families. The importance of health financing systems cannot be over emphasized. It is essential for achieving universal health coverage (UHC), a World Health Organization’s sustainable development initiative that aims to ensure everyone everywhere has the ability to access essential quality health services without any financial barriers. The successful attainment of UHC is dependent on the understanding of past and present trends of health financing, and using this information to predict and implement better financial methods for the future.
World Health Organization continues to promote UHC in various countries by:
- Supporting the development, implementation and monitoring of national health policies, strategies and plans
- Supporting the provision and availability of equitable and affordable patient-oriented health services
- Facilitating access to affordable, safe and effective medicines and health technologies through health plans, accreditation and subsidies
- Strengthening the health information systems and evidence based policies in order to provide information and facts on health-related matters
- Ensuring the existence of resilient and comprehensive health systems in place including having motivated healthcare workers, appropriate funding, safe medicines, research, and information systems