Tobacco taxes are recognized as an effective policy tool to reduce tobacco consumption and improve health outcomes; however, policy makers often hesitate to use them because of their possible regressive effects. This report assesses the ability of taxes on tobacco to improve future health and...

Protecting healthcare workers and patients is critical to reduce the spread of the disease. In this brief we highlight three urgent actions : Distribution of infection prevention and control (IPC) policies and guidelines to all health facilities; Manufacturing and distribution of IPC supplies to...

Disasters and emergencies often have disproportionate impacts on a country's health system and the overall health of women, men, girls, and boys. The interruptions of routine public health programs, such as vaccination campaigns, are common in the wake of a disaster, setting back gains to...

The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has overwhelmed the capacity of some domestic healthcare systems, highlighting the need to allow scarce healthcare resources to move, including across borders, to where outbreaks emerge and are worse. Digital technologies, data, and cross-border e-health...

This policy note assesses Croatia's readiness for increased longevity. It focuses on health and social care services for the elderly, identifying critical gaps, or open questions, in the key areas of services, workforce, financing and governance. The aim is to support reforms that strengthen...

Almost every country in the Middle East and North Africa (MNA) region is faced with the increasing significant burden imposed by Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) on their health systems. The focus thus far has been on executing emergency interventions to prevent, detect, and respond to the COVID-19...

This is the first of a series of policy notes that address critical health finance related questions in Tanzania. They are issued as part of a larger public expenditure review exercise. The audience is government, civil society and the development partner community with the aim to initiate a...

This is the second in a series of health policy notes that address critical health finance related questions in Tanzania. They are issued as part of a larger public expenditure review exercise. The audience is government, civil society and the development partner community with the aim to...

Out-of-pocket payments (OOPs) are direct (at the point of service) financial contributions or co-payments by patients and their families associated with consumption of medical products (such as medicines) and/or services. They can be formal as well as informal payments. Together with taxation,...

This paper examines health provider payment reforms in China the present system and how it evolved, and changes that will improve it in the context of ongoing health reform. The paper begins with a brief introduction and background discussion followed by two substantive sections experiments with...