Financing

Adequate financing of the health sector is key to functional, equitable and sustainable health systems and provision of effective, quality care services. It is therefore an important determinant of population health and a key element of poverty reduction strategies.

If universal coverage of essential services is the underlying aim, this means that people must have access to essential health care services at a cost they can afford.

Costs of essential health care services, including the payment of consultation fees, drugs, laboratory tests and other services, may act as a major barrier to utilization of health services, especially by those who most need them, the poor and disadvantaged families. As a result, children, who represent the future of any society, may pay a high price, their health and development being at high risk unless effective care is made available to them.

Strategies to improve child health care must therefore consider not only the purely technical aspects of care but also the implications that any factor that has an impact on equitable access to care has for the health of children.

While policies can address the issue of financing, public child health managers can contribute to studying, proposing, advocating and implementing approaches that improve access to essential, quality child care.

There are examples of important initiatives undertaken by countries in the Region when implementing IMCI (Integrated management of Child Health), as part of their strategy to improve child care. In Egypt, drugs needed to treat the prevailing child conditions according to the IMCI guidelines were provided for free, including pre-referral drugs (with some exceptions, such as health facilities covered by the health insurance scheme). In the Syrian Arab Republic, a ministerial circular was issued to direct health facilities implementing IMCI to provide drugs included in the IMCI protocol for children under 5 years old for free. Both countries also implemented a policy of exemption from fees for clinical follow-up visits, after the introduction of IMCI: children with conditions needing to be followed up were exempted from the consultation fee for the repeat visit for the same episode, to promote timely follow-up. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, the IMCI guidelines were used as reference standards for reimbursement through the health insurance scheme.

Health financing policy

Macroeconomics and health

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