Publication: Lessons from 11 Country Case Studies : A Global Synthesis Report for the Global Conference on Universal Health Coverage for Inclusive and Sustainable Growth
Loading...
Published
2013-11
ISSN
Date
2014-02-11
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Several countries such as Japan, Brazil, Thailand and Turkey have achieved universal health coverage (UHC) and are proof of how UHC programs can serve as vital mechanisms for improving the health and welfare of the country's citizens. The UHC strives to ensure that no family is forced into poverty because of health care expenses, and that the gap in access to quality health services for the poorest forty percent of the population in every country is reduced and eventually eliminated. This document was created by the World Bank for presentation at the Global Conference on Universal Health Coverage for Inclusive and Sustainable Growth in December 2013 at Tokyo. It synthesizes findings from eleven country cases on UHC that were supported under the Japan-World Bank Partnership Program on Universal Health Coverage. the paper contains herein the objectives of the study, a framework for analysis, emerging lessons from country experiences, global lessons in the political economy and policy process, global lessons in health financing strategy, global lessons in health service delivery and human resources for health, lessons for countries in the four UHC groups, and a future course of action, interspersed with case studies from various countries.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2013. Lessons from 11 Country Case Studies : A Global Synthesis Report for the Global Conference on Universal Health Coverage for Inclusive and Sustainable Growth. © http://hdl.handle.net/10986/17003 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication The Long March to Universal Coverage : Lessons from China(World Bank, Washington DC, 2013-01)The march to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in China is unparalleled. Since the establishment of the State Council Medical Reform team in 2006,4 the basic objective of China's health reforms has been to provide the whole nation with basic medical and health care, while ensuring equal access to, and affordability of, health services. The Chinese government announced the national three-year reform plan in 2009, after which the country has made remarkable progress toward achieving nearly universal health coverage. The recent health reform initiatives under the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) continue to center on five areas. Building on recent experience, more effort is directed toward a structural change of the health system and building an environment that will facilitate policy implementation. This includes optimizing resource distribution, encouraging hospital competition, strengthening regulation and accountability, and enhancing human resources and information technology. While China has successfully extended the breadth of Health Coverage to the Poor (HCP), its scope (the comprehensiveness of services covered) and depth (the degree of financial risk protection) appear to be insufficient. Hospital admissions have increased significantly; suggesting improved access, up to 50 percent of current admissions may be amenable to more cost-effective outpatient care. Thus, it is critical to look into problems beyond the HCP program design, such as institutional arrangements, intergovernmental transfers, and supply constraints. This case study concludes with a discussion of the impacts of HCP and the needed next steps to advance HCP as an intermediate objective to the country's longer-term goals of equitable access and high quality of services.Publication Universal Health Coverage for Inclusive and Sustainable Development : A Synthesis of 11 Country Case Studies(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2014-06-25)The goals of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) are to ensure that all people can access quality health services, to safeguard all people from public health risks, and to protect all people from impoverishment due to illness, whether from out-of-pocket payments for health care or loss of income when a household member falls sick. Countries as diverse as Brazil, France, Japan, Thailand, and Turkey that have achieved UHC are showing how these programs can serve as vital mechanisms for improving the health and welfare of their citizens, and lay the foundation for economic growth and competitiveness grounded in the principles of equity and sustainability. Ensuring universal access to affordable, quality health services will be an important contribution to ending extreme poverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity in low income and middle-income countries (LMICs), where most of the world s poor live.Publication Universal Health Coverage for Inclusive and Sustainable Development : Country Summary Report for Vietnam(World Bank Group, Washington, DC, 2014-09)Vietnam is regarded as a development success story. Political and economic reforms ( Doi Moi ) launched at the end of the 1980s have transformed the country from one of the poorest in the world to a lower middle-income country in a quarter century, with per capita income of $1,130 (World Bank, 2013). Over the past 10 years, Vietnam has seen average annual economic growth of nearly 8 percent. Poverty tumbled from 58 percent in 1993 to 12 percent in 2009. Economic development and innovative policy interventions led to steep gains in health outcomes and access to health care, although large disparities persist between the rich and poor, and between poorer and better-off regions (Vietnam General Statistics Office 2011b). Infant mortality declined from 30 to 16 per 100,000 live births, and under-five mortality rates from 42 to 25 per 100,000 live births, between 2001 and 2009 (Vietnam General Statistics Office 2011a, 2011c). Vietnam has shown strong political commitment toward universal health coverage (UHC), making it a national goal for 2014. A major challenge lies now in expanding coverage to the non-covered population (64 percent had coverage in 2012) while addressing the model s financial sustainability.Publication Sustaining Universal Health Coverage in France : A Perpetual Challenge(World Bank Group, Washington, DC, 2014-06)While universal health coverage (UHC) offers a powerful goal for a nation, all countries-irrespective of income are struggling with achieving or sustaining UHC. France is a high-income country where HC is in effect universal. Health-related costs are covered by a mix of mandatory social health insurance (SHI) and private complementary schemes, while benefit packages are comprehensive, uniform, and of good quality. France provides some of the highest financial protection among countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Still, under pressure to sustain UHC without compromising equity of access, the system has been fine-tuned continually since inception. Much can be learned from France's experience in its reforms toward better fiscal sustainability, equity, and efficiency. The main purpose of the study is to assess major challenges that France has faced for sustaining UHC, and to share its experiences and lessons in addressing system bottlenecks to benefit less developed countries as they embark on the path to UHC.Publication Universal Health Coverage for Inclusive and Sustainable Development : Country Summary Report for France(World Bank Group, Washington, DC, 2014-08)Situated in Western Europe, France is a high-income country with a gross national income (GNI) above $40,000 per capita. While the overall picture of health status is good, France contains apparent contradictions. Life expectancy is overall better than in many European countries, but premature male deaths remain high due to accidents, smoking, and alcoholism. Social and geographic inequalities in health are substantial, to the disadvantage of the northern parts of metropolitan France and overseas departments and territories. The French system largely relies on Bismarckian-based Statutory Health Insurance (SHI), established after the Second World War. Universal coverage was fully achieved in 2000 when a new law (Universal Medical Coverage Act, or CMU by its French acronym) expanded coverage to noncontributory low-income groups. Financial sustainability of the model has been a recurrent concern over the last three decades. Recent shifts in the funding model and the introduction of spending targets and efficiency measures have injected some flexibility to the system.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Lebanon Economic Monitor, Fall 2022(Washington, DC, 2022-11)The economy continues to contract, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Public finances improved in 2021, but only because spending collapsed faster than revenue generation. Testament to the continued atrophy of Lebanon’s economy, the Lebanese Pound continues to depreciate sharply. The sharp deterioration in the currency continues to drive surging inflation, in triple digits since July 2020, impacting the poor and vulnerable the most. An unprecedented institutional vacuum will likely further delay any agreement on crisis resolution and much needed reforms; this includes prior actions as part of the April 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA). Divergent views among key stakeholders on how to distribute the financial losses remains the main bottleneck for reaching an agreement on a comprehensive reform agenda. Lebanon needs to urgently adopt a domestic, equitable, and comprehensive solution that is predicated on: (i) addressing upfront the balance sheet impairments, (ii) restoring liquidity, and (iii) adhering to sound global practices of bail-in solutions based on a hierarchy of creditors (starting with banks’ shareholders) that protects small depositors.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication Morocco Economic Update, Winter 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-03)Despite the drought causing a modest deceleration of overall GDP growth to 3.2 percent, the Moroccan economy has exhibited some encouraging trends in 2024. Non-agricultural growth has accelerated to an estimated 3.8 percent, driven by a revitalized industrial sector and a rebound in gross capital formation. Inflation has dropped below 1 percent, allowing Bank al-Maghrib to begin easing its monetary policy. While rural labor markets remain depressed, the economy has added close to 162,000 jobs in urban areas. Morocco’s external position remains strong overall, with a moderate current account deficit largely financed by growing foreign direct investment inflows, underpinned by solid investor confidence indicators. Despite significant spending pressures, the debt-to-GDP ratio is slowly declining.