New assessment of universal health insurance, the world will probably not reach WHO goals

A new study predicts that by 2023, 3.1 billion people will not yet have effective health care services, and 966 million will live in South Asia. This has not reached the goal of increasing the benefits of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) of 1 billion by the World Health Organization (WHO) between 2019 and 2023.

Universal health Coverage is defined as all people receiving quality Health services Without causing financial difficulties. A paper which is a part of global disease burden research was published in an international medical journal today Lancet.. Researchers focus only on measuring service coverage, how countries adapt medical services to the needs of the population, and how those services contribute to people’s health or not enough We have developed a new framework to understand.

“Universal health insurance is more than just access to healthcare,” said Dr Rafael Rosano, lead researcher and director of health systems at the Institute for Health Measurement and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine. It was .. “Measuring access is necessary, but not enough to get a health outcome. By striving to get a potential health improvement, we improve the health of all and ensure that no one We want to better diagnose and address issues that do not leave us behind the ultimate goal of UHC.”

Using 23 indicators, researchers evaluated effective coverage by country on a 1-100 scale and measured progress from 1990 to 2019. Globally, UHC’s effective coverage performance has improved by almost 15 points over the period, but significant variability remains in countries and regions, ranging from >96 to <25. 2019 has the highest effective coverage score (96.4), followed by Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and San Marino. The Central African Republic, Somalia, Chad, Guinea and Vanuatu had the worst effective coverage performance of UHC.

Sub-Saharan Africa has accelerated its growth since 2010, compared to other regions, and the average annual improvement from 2010 to 2019 has almost doubled compared to 1990 to 2010. Effective coverage performance grew the fastest in Zimbabwe, eSwatini, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, and South Africa.

Researchers have also found that many countries lag behind in non-communicable disease performance compared to infectious disease and reproductive, maternal and child health. Globally, noncommunicable diseases accounted for a large proportion of potential health promotion in 2019.

However, in some countries such as Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, Non-communicable diseases There is still a high level of disease burden (eg HIV) and it is an important area for policy makers and practitioners to prioritize. Various scenarios highlight the value of measuring effective service coverage. This is not a one-size-fits-all approach to service coverage, but helps inform UHC priorities that evolve with time to meet the needs of a country’s health needs.

The study did not measure the financial risk protection component of UHC, but researchers looked at per capita health care costs by country. They found that increasing spending could be important for improving the effective coverage performance of UHC in many countries, but the efficiency of healthcare systems is also a key factor.

The relationship between health care costs and its effective coverage of universal health is also highlighted in IHME’s recent Global Healthcare Fund Report. Countries that outperform spending levels include Peru, Rwanda, South Korea, Cyprus and Costa Rica. The United States, Central African Republic, Turkmenistan and Saudi Arabia were among the countries with poor performance compared to spending levels.

“We are seeing countries with varying levels of performance at the same level of spending, which means that the money spent on health is not converted efficiently enough to lead to effective UHC. Is shown. coverageIHME director and lead author of the study, Dr. Christopher Murray. “For most countries, increasing medical costs alone cannot meet the ambitious UHC target. Improving the alignment of the health needs of the population with the health system and increasing efficiency with more money is more It will bring faster and more lasting benefits.”

The study was completed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it provides an important benchmark for measuring the impact of the pandemic and its progress towards UHC over the next few years. It also emphasizes the value of effective data systems.

“Even if the virus is spreading rapidly or there are persistent gaps in the delivery of health care services, establishing and maintaining a strong data system is important for identifying and effectively responding to health needs. It provides the opportunity for everyone in the country and around the world to live a good and healthy life.” A student of Global Health at the University of Washington and one of the lead authors of the study.