RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 A landscape analysis of universal health coverage for mothers and children in South Asia
JF BMJ Global Health
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP e000017
DO 10.1136/bmjgh-2015-000017
VO 1
IS 1
A1 Katy Scammell
A1 Douglas J Noble
A1 Kumanan Rasanathan
A1 Thomas O'Connell
A1 Aishath Shahula Ahmed
A1 Genevieve Begkoyian
A1 Tania Goldner
A1 Renuka Jayatissa
A1 Lianne Kuppens
A1 Hendrikus Raaijmakers
A1 Isabel Vashti Simbeye
A1 Sherin Varkey
A1 Mickey Chopra
YR 2016
UL http://gh.bmj.com/content/1/1/e000017.abstract
AB 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.