Medico international and the Hélène-de-Beir Foundation have just published the document "Global social protection scheme moving from charity to solidarity".
This document is a compilation of papers presented at the workshop on Global Social Protection held in Berlin from May 14th to 16th, 2012. This workshop brought together experts working in various fields related directly or indirectly to global health, such as the right to health, international taxation and financing mechanisms, and social protection. The objective of the workshop was to identify and present ideas, concepts and strategies for converting the current paradigm of charity-based international aid for universal health coverage into rights-based and operational solidarity. The document is designed as a background document for a policy paper on Global Social Protection.
Consult the document here.
2013-02-15
In recent years, many countries have declared their commitment to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) and introduced policies and approaches to achieve that goal. However, currently, there are few guidelines for measuring and monitoring countries’ progress towards UHC. Health Systems 20/20 has been working with several development partners in identifying and agreeing upon a set of key indicators.
The Health Systems 20/20 Project reviewed UHC indicators that have already been defined in the literature, assessed the feasibility of producing those indicators from already-available data sources in five countries, and reflected upon the strengths and weaknesses of those indicators.
The Project also brought together representatives of several international development organizations and implementing partners in July 2012 to advance the dialogue and move toward consensus on an approach to UHC measurement.
The summary report is now available.
Read full article.
2012-10-02
The national debate that has sprung up in the US around the new legislation on health care is actually quite beneficial, according to an ILO expert on social protection.
2012-07-06
New ILO publication on the financial burden of health and long-term care expenditure on older persons in Europe. This research report assesses the financial impact of private health and long-term care expenditure on households of the elderly, in particular, the impact of out-of-pocket payments at the time of service delivery and related policy implications.
Download the report: Can the European elderly afford the financial burden of health and long-term care? Assessing impacts and policy implications
2012-05-10
After four decades of designing and implementing a number of different health insurance schemes, Thailand finally achieved universal coverage in 2002. Although there were many contributing factors — political, economic, social, and health‐system related — the most significant was an ambitious reform known as the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS).
This report, published by the Health Systems Research Insitute (HSRI), an autonomous state agency, is an assessment of how the UCS performed in its first 10 years. The assessment was undertaken to better understand the extent to which the scheme was implemented and designed and the extent to which it has achieved its intended impact. Another aim of the assessment was to capture any lessons that may help other countries on the path towards universal coverage.
To read the report, click here.
2012-02-03
Indonesian Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said on Friday that her ministry has allocated some 6.5 trillion rupiah (about 708.8 million U.S. dollars) to fund health insurance program for the poor this year.
Read full article.
Xinhua (Beijing), 13 Jan. 2012.
2012-01-24
The population of Benin will now have easy access to medical care thanks to the Universal Health Insurance Scheme (RAMU), officially launched on Monday in Cotonou by the President of Benin, Boni Yayi.
Read full article (in French).
China Radio International (Beijing), 20 Dec. 2011.
2012-01-04
The course will identify inequities in effective access and main causes, review the importance of universal access to health care in crisis and post crisis situations, issues related to the feasibility of introducing a scheme and planning for implementation; designing the appropriate contribution levels and benefi ts, monitoring the provision of services and ensuring the sound governance and fi nancing of the scheme.
Executives, managers, planners, financial officers and other professionals of healthcare and health insurance schemes, both in governments and non-governmental sectors.
- Download the flyer.
- For further information, please visit http://socialprotection.itcilo.org
2011-12-07
The Prince Mahidol Award Conference 2012 will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, during the week of 24-28 January 2012. Sponsored by the Prince Mahidol Award Foundation and co-sponsored by other global partners, such as the World Bank and the World Health Organisation, the conference will focus on the extension of universal health coverage.
The participants will discuss issues such as: the need to position universal health coverage in the global and national development agendas; the necessity to identify factors contributing to the success of health financing reforms; and the opportunity to review and share experiences among various countries at different stages of development.
For more information, see the conference website and detailed programme.
2011-12-05
This sixth edition of Health at a Glance provides (forthcoming, OECD) the latest comparable data on different aspects of the performance of health systems in OECD countries. It provides striking evidence of large variations across countries in the costs, activities and results of health systems. Key indicators provide information on health status, the determinants of health, health care activities and health expenditure and financing in OECD countries. Each indicator in the book is presented in a user-friendly format, consisting of charts illustrating variations across countries and over time, brief descriptive analyses highlighting the major findings conveyed by the data, and a methodological box on the definition of the indicator and any limitations in data comparability.
More information | OECD Publishing, “Health at a Glance 2011” , 02 november 2011
More information on social determinants of health
2011-11-02
The objective of providing universal health coverage is high on the agenda of countries in the broader European region, yet vulnerable groups often do not have full access to health services, according to Dr. Xenia Scheil-Adlung, Health Policy Coordinator at the ILO’s Social Security Department. ILO Online spoke to Dr. Scheil-Adlung, who has published a study looking at the situation in the region, which includes the European Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States and Central and Eastern Europe.
ILO Online, 6 October 2011.
2011-10-11
From 19-21 October 2011, the World Health Organization (WHO) is convening a global conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to build support for the implementation of action on social determinants of health. The conference is being organized in response to a 2009 World Health Assembly Resolution and will be hosted by the Government of Brazil.
The event will provide a global platform for dialogue on how the recommendations in the final report of the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health (2008) could be taken forward and participants will discuss policies and strategies aiming to reduce health inequities. The conference's outcome document, the Rio Declaration, will help to build high-level international backing for the further development and implementation of national policies to address social determinants of health.
These determinants are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age; however, they are shaped by the distribution of money, power and resources at global, national and local levels, which are themselves influenced by policy choices.
The conference will be attended by ministers of health, foreign affairs, the environment and other sectors; representatives of international agencies, philanthropic institutions and civil society organizations; leading academics and technical experts; and representatives from the private sector.
For more information, click here
2011-08-04