Publication:
Health Financing in the Republic of Gabon

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Files in English
English PDF (3.93 MB)
1,457 downloads
English Text (475.05 KB)
187 downloads
Published
2014-09-30
ISSN
Date
2014-10-10
Author(s)
Couttolenc, Bernard F.
Barroy, Helene
Editor(s)
Abstract
This is a review of the health financing situation in the Republic of Gabon. The book reviews the situation in the country under the lens of the principles of health financing: revenue mobilization for health, risk pooling, and purchasing services. The book also estimates the fiscal space in health that is, looking at options that can increase resources for health within a macroeconomic and fiscal context. Universal health coverage has been defined as a situation where all people who need health services (prevention, promotion, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative) receive them, without undue financial hardship. Universal health coverage consists of three inter-related components: (i) the full spectrum of quality health services according to need; (ii) financial protection from direct payment for health services when consumed; and (iii) coverage for the entire population. Because of Gabon's commitment to universal health coverage, certain segments are calling for additional resources for this sector. As a result, the country is grappling with the following: (i) how are resources being spent, (ii) is there room for a more efficient allocation of current resources, or (iii) is there an urgent need to mobilize additional resources to meet the goal. This book attempts to diagnose the situation and offer additional information to enlighten and fuel the debate. The book has six chapters: chapter one gives background and objectives. Chapter two provides an overview of the country s health status and service use patterns. Chapter three provides an overview of health financing systems and outputs. Chapter four provides an overview of the national health insurance and social security (caisse nationale d'assurance maladie et de garantie sociale) (CNAMGS). Chapter five provides fiscal space analysis for health. Finally, chapter six provides the reform issues and policy options in health financing.
Link to Data Set
Citation
Couttolenc, Bernard F.; Saleh, Karima; Barroy, Helene. 2014. Health Financing in the Republic of Gabon. A World Bank study;. © http://hdl.handle.net/10986/20411 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.
Associated URLs
Associated content
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Publication
    The Health Sector in Ghana : A Comprehensive Assessment
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2013) Saleh, Karima
    Ghana has committed politically, legislatively, and fiscally to providing universal health insurance coverage for its population with the intent of reducing financial barriers to utilization of health care.. However, under current cost and enrollment projections the system will not be financially sustainable in the long term, so there is more work to do. This book provides an important evidence-based review of the current performance of Ghana's health system and options for reform. As such, it provides an overall picture of the Ghana health sector, how things were and how things have changed, as well as a situational analysis of the performance of the health delivery and health financing systems using the latest available data. Finally, it discusses key reform issues and options in the context of the country's likely fiscal space. An important and valuable contribution of this book is its examination of how Ghana is performing compared to its neighboring countries and compared to other countries with similar incomes and health spending, providing global benchmarks for Ghana's health system performance.
  • Publication
    Republic of Yemen : Health Sector Strategy Note
    (Washington, DC, 2001-02) World Bank
    This report is intended to provide a base for discussions of Yemen's health sector strategy with the Government of Yemen (GOY) and other donors in light of the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) initiative of Health Sector Reform (HSR) as well as the potential areas of World Bank support. The report is divided in nine sections. Section A provides the introduction to the report and the country context. Sections B and C review the key health indicators and trends and the key aspects of the sector in terms of financing, service delivery, human resources, health services, organizational framework, and policy environment. Sections D and E provide international comparisons and an assessment of the sector performance with regard to health outcomes, equity, access, efficiency, quality, and sustainability. Section F is an outline of the MOPH/HSR program. Sections G and H provide an overview of the Bank's current assistance and its response to HSR as well as the different donors' support. Finally, Section I outlines the future areas where the Bank can support the government in its health reform efforts. Yemen faces major challenges to improving the health status of its population, which go beyond the health delivery network. Poverty, low participation in education especially among girls, and high illiteracy are major contributing factors to poor health as are limited access to potable water and proper sanitation.
  • Publication
    World Bank study : A Health Sector in Transition to Universal Coverage in Ghana
    (World Bank, 2012-01-01) Saleh, Karima
    Ghana has come a long way in improving health outcomes and it performs reasonably well when compared to the other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, when its health outcomes are compared to other countries globally with similar incomes and health spending levels, its performance is more mixed. Ghana's health outcome performances, in terms of child health and maternal health, are worse than the levels found in other comparable lower middle income and health spending countries, but life expectancy is better. Ghana's demographic profile is changing, and demographic, epidemiological, and nutrition transitions are well underway. The dependency ratio is expected to be favorably affected by the expanding large numbers of individuals entering the labor force, while fertility albeit still high continues to decline. It is the right time for Ghana to take advantage of this potential demographic dividend. Taking appropriate steps to improve employment opportunities is critical or else the country will face economic pressures as well as political unrest. There is a funding shortage for public health goods. Many public health goods, such as immunization and family planning, are generally heavily subsidized, with tax or donor financing. However, Ghana has a low allocation of public funds to meet the demands for family planning commodities. The private sector has responded somewhat to this market failure by selling family planning commodities in private pharmacies, thereby increasing supply. Morbidity and mortality from communicable disease (CD) are highly prevalent in Ghana, and make up fifty three percent of the disease burden. Although, cost-effective interventions are offered, a significant proportion of morbidity and mortality is still CD related.
  • Publication
    Twenty Years of Health System Reform in Brazil : An Assessment of the Sistema Único de Saúde
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2013-06-13) Couttolenc, Bernard; Gragnolati, Michele; Lindelow, Magnus
    It has been more than 20 years since Brazil's 1988 Constitution formally established the Unified Health System (Sistema Unico de Saude, SUS). Building on reforms that started in the 1980s, the SUS represented a significant break with the past, establishing health care as a fundamental right and duty of the state and initiating a process of fundamentally transforming Brazil's health system to achieve this goal. This report aims to answer two main questions. First is have the SUS reforms transformed the health system as envisaged 20 years ago? Second, have the reforms led to improvements with regard to access to services, financial protection, and health outcomes? In addressing these questions, the report revisits ground covered in previous assessments, but also brings to bear additional or more recent data and places Brazil's health system in an international context. The report shows that the health system reforms can be credited with significant achievements. The report points to some promising directions for health system reforms that will allow Brazil to continue building on the achievements made to date. Although it is possible to reach some broad conclusions, there are many gaps and caveats in the story. A secondary aim of the report is to consider how some of these gaps can be filled through improved monitoring of health system performance and future research. The introduction presents a short review of the history of the SUS, describes the core principles that underpinned the reform, and offers a brief description of the evaluation framework used in the report. Chapter two presents findings on the extent to which the SUS reforms have transformed the health system, focusing on delivery, financing, and governance. Chapter three asks whether the reforms have resulted in improved outcomes with regard to access to services, financial protection, quality, health outcomes, and efficiency. The concluding chapter presents the main findings of the study, discusses some policy directions for addressing the current shortcomings, and identifies areas for further research.
  • Publication
    Brazil’s Primary Care Strategy
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-01) Couttolenc, Bernard; Dmytraczenko, Tania
    This case study summarizes the responses to the questionnaire on The Nuts and Bolts of the Program Expanding Health Coverage to the Poor, developed within the framework of the World Bank's UNICO - Universal Challenge Program. By so doing, it assesses the key features and the achievements and challenges of Brazil s Primary Care Strategy (PCS) and analyzes the contribution of this strategy to the establishment and implementation of universal coverage. Section 2 provides context for the discussion by summarizing key reforms and the impact of the PCS and describes Brazil s health care delivery and financing system. The institutional architecture and interaction of the health care program (HCP), in this case the PCS, is discussed in section 3. Sections 4 through 8 outline the main features of the strategy, including the identification and targeting of beneficiaries, management of public funds, services covered, and the information environment. The case study concludes with a discussion of lessons learned (section 9) and the pending agenda (section 10).

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

  • Publication
    Doing Business in 2005
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2004) World Bank; International Finance Corporation
    2004 was a good year for doing business in most transition economies, the World Bank Group concluded in its Doing Business in 2005 survey, the second in its series tracking regulatory reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business in the world's economies. However, the survey found that conditions for starting and running a business in poorer countries were consistently more burdensome than in richer countries. The top 5 economies on the ease of doing business were, in order: New Zealand, United States, Singapore, Hong Kong (China), and Australia. Slovakia was the leading reformer, together with Lithuania breaking into the list of the 20 economies with the best business conditions. The major impetus for reform in 2003 was competition in the enlarged European Union. Doing Business in 2004 presented indicators in 5 topics (starting a business, hiring and firing workers, enforcing contracts, getting credit and closing a business), so this report updates these measures. There are two additional sets: registering property and protecting investors. The indicators are used to analyze economic and social outcomes, such as productivity, investment, informality, corruption, unemployment, and poverty, and identify what reforms have worked, where and why.
  • Publication
    Global Economic Prospects, January 2025
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-16) World Bank
    Global growth is expected to hold steady at 2.7 percent in 2025-26. However, the global economy appears to be settling at a low growth rate that will be insufficient to foster sustained economic development—with the possibility of further headwinds from heightened policy uncertainty and adverse trade policy shifts, geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, and climate-related natural disasters. Against this backdrop, emerging market and developing economies are set to enter the second quarter of the twenty-first century with per capita incomes on a trajectory that implies substantially slower catch-up toward advanced-economy living standards than they previously experienced. Without course corrections, most low-income countries are unlikely to graduate to middle-income status by the middle of the century. Policy action at both global and national levels is needed to foster a more favorable external environment, enhance macroeconomic stability, reduce structural constraints, address the effects of climate change, and thus accelerate long-term growth and development.
  • Publication
    Poverty, Prosperity, and Planet Report 2024
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-15) World Bank
    The Poverty, Prosperity, and Planet Report 2024 is the latest edition of the series formerly known as Poverty and Shared Prosperity. The report emphasizes that reducing poverty and increasing shared prosperity must be achieved in ways that do not come at unacceptably high costs to the environment. The current “polycrisis”—where the multiple crises of slow economic growth, increased fragility, climate risks, and heightened uncertainty have come together at the same time—makes national development strategies and international cooperation difficult. Offering the first post-Coronavirus (COVID)-19 pandemic assessment of global progress on this interlinked agenda, the report finds that global poverty reduction has resumed but at a pace slower than before the COVID-19 crisis. Nearly 700 million people worldwide live in extreme poverty with less than US$2.15 per person per day. Progress has essentially plateaued amid lower economic growth and the impacts of COVID-19 and other crises. Today, extreme poverty is concentrated mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa and fragile settings. At a higher standard more typical of upper-middle-income countries—US$6.85 per person per day—almost one-half of the world is living in poverty. The report also provides evidence that the number of countries that have high levels of income inequality has declined considerably during the past two decades, but the pace of improvements in shared prosperity has slowed, and that inequality remains high in Latin America and the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa. Worldwide, people’s incomes today would need to increase fivefold on average to reach a minimum prosperity threshold of US$25 per person per day. Where there has been progress in poverty reduction and shared prosperity, there is evidence of an increasing ability of countries to manage natural hazards, but climate risks are significantly higher in the poorest settings. Nearly one in five people globally is at risk of experiencing welfare losses due to an extreme weather event from which they will struggle to recover. The interconnected issues of climate change and poverty call for a united and inclusive effort from the global community. Development cooperation stakeholders—from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to communities and citizens acting locally in every corner of the globe—hold pivotal roles in promoting fair and sustainable transitions. By emphasizing strategies that yield multiple benefits and diligently monitoring and addressing trade-offs, we can strive toward a future that is prosperous, equitable, and resilient.
  • Publication
    World Development Report 2008
    (Washington, DC, 2007) World Bank
    The world's demand for food is expected to double within the next 50 years, while the natural resources that sustain agriculture will become increasingly scarce, degraded, and vulnerable to the effects of climate change. In many poor countries, agriculture accounts for at least 40 percent of GDP and 80 percent of employment. At the same time, about 70 percent of the world's poor live in rural areas and most depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. World Development Report 2008 seeks to assess where, when, and how agriculture can be an effective instrument for economic development, especially development that favors the poor. It examines several broad questions: How has agriculture changed in developing countries in the past 20 years? What are the important new challenges and opportunities for agriculture? Which new sources of agricultural growth can be captured cost effectively in particular in poor countries with large agricultural sectors as in Africa? How can agricultural growth be made more effective for poverty reduction? How can governments facilitate the transition of large populations out of agriculture, without simply transferring the burden of rural poverty to urban areas? How can the natural resource endowment for agriculture be protected? How can agriculture's negative environmental effects be contained? This year's report marks the 30th year the World Bank has been publishing the World Development Report.
  • Publication
    Quantitative Analysis of Road Transport Agreements (QuARTA)
    (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2013-04-13) Tanase, Virginia; Kunaka, Charles; Latrille, Pierre; Krausz, Peter
    Road freight transport is indispensable to international economic cooperation and foreign trade. Across all continents, it is commonly used for short and medium distances and in long distance haulage when minimizing time is important. In all instances governments play a critical role in ensuring the competitive advantage of private sector operators. Countries often have many opportunities to minimize the physical or administrative barriers that increase costs, take measures to enhance the attractiveness and competitiveness of road transport, or generally nurture the integral role of international road freight transport in the global trade logistics industry. Road freight transport is critical to domestic and international trade. It is the dominant mode of transport for overland movement of trade traffic, carrying more than 80 percent of traffic in most regions. Generally, nearly all trade traffic is carried by road at some point. Therefore, the cost and quality of road transport services is of critical importance to trade competitiveness of countries and regions within countries. In fact, road transport is fundamental to modern international division of labor and supply-chain management.