Paying for Health

The topic 'paying for health' could be debated over and over, but the adverse effect of 'direct payments' popularly known as 'out of pocket' on the poor and poverty cannot be over-emphasized. Many developing countries see a large number of its population living in rural areas and in other cases hard to reach areas leaving a good number of population underserved with limited or no access to amenities including health.

photo credit: WHO


With a lot of research and debates on increasing financial access to health for the poor towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC), a greater topic lingers- Who to pay for the poor. This boils down to examining sources of funding, systems, capacity, costs and quality of services. As much as thoughts and discussions are being stimulated around these issues, it is apparent government should take the lead with support from the international development communities. A sustainable and strengthened health system is continuously advocated for and the need to prioritise this to ensure healthier communities and economic development.