A landscape analysis of universal health coverage for mothers and children in South Asia

The United Nations made universal health coverage (UHC) a key health goal in 2012 and it is one of the Sustainable Development Goals' targets. This analysis focuses on UHC for mothers and children in the 8 countries of South Asia. A high level overview of coverage of selected maternal, newborn...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMJ global health 2016-06, Vol.1 (1), p.e000017-e000017
Main Authors: Scammell, Katy, Noble, Douglas J, Rasanathan, Kumanan, O'Connell, Thomas, Ahmed, Aishath Shahula, Begkoyian, Genevieve, Goldner, Tania, Jayatissa, Renuka, Kuppens, Lianne, Raaijmakers, Hendrikus, Simbeye, Isabel Vashti, Varkey, Sherin, Chopra, Mickey
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Attended births
Breastfeeding & lactation
Children & youth
Childrens health
Diarrhea
Expenditures
Global health
Health services
Immunization
Newborn babies
Population
Prenatal care
Resource allocation
Rural areas
Sustainable development
Urban areas
Vaccines
Womens health
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Summary:The United Nations made universal health coverage (UHC) a key health goal in 2012 and it is one of the Sustainable Development Goals' targets. This analysis focuses on UHC for mothers and children in the 8 countries of South Asia. A high level overview of coverage of selected maternal, newborn and child health services, equity, quality of care and financial risk protection is presented. Common barriers countries face in achieving UHC are discussed and solutions explored. In countries of South Asia, except Bhutan and Maldives, between 42% and 67% of spending on health comes from out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) and government expenditure does not align with political aspirations. Even where reported coverage of services is good, quality of care is often low and the poorest fare worst. There are strong examples of ongoing successes in countries such as Bhutan, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Related to this success are factors such as lower OOPE and higher spending on health. To make progress in achieving UHC, financial and non-financial barriers to accessing and receiving high-quality healthcare need to be reduced, the amount of investment in essential health services needs to be increased and allocation of resources must disproportionately benefit the poorest.
ISSN:2059-7908
2059-7908
DOI:10.1136/bmjgh-2015-000017