Undernutrition imposes a staggering cost worldwide, both in human and economic terms. It is responsible for the deaths of more than 3.5 million children each year (more than one-third of all deaths among children under five) and the loss of billions of dollars in forgone productivity and...

This overview of health financing tools, policies and trends--with a particular focus on challenges facing developing countries--provides the basis for effective policy-making. Analyzing the current global environment, the book discusses health financing goals in the context of both the...

Public Ends, Private Means: Strategic purchasing of value for money in health services is part of a series of World Bank publications on ways to make public spending on health care more efficient and equitable in developing countries. It reviews the underlying economics in terms of agency...

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. In 2005, we launched a publically financed comprehensive health benefits package that...

The report is divided into five chapters. This chapter provides background on demographic and epidemiological trends, the configuration of Ghana's health system, and health financing functions and health systems goals. It also describes Ghana's health financing system. Chapter two assesses the...