https://arab.news/yhq86
Global health financing is at an inflection point. Traditional development assistance is shrinking, domestic budgets are under pressure and health needs are rising everywhere, driven by emergencies, demographic change and the growing burden of noncommunicable diseases. For countries across the Eastern Mediterranean region and the wider Global South, these pressures are particularly acute.
For many years, the World Health Organization has worked with governments to prioritize health in public spending and government budgets, strengthen public financial management, improve efficiency through strategic purchasing and advocate for predictable, pooled financing — including in fragile and conflict-affected settings. The objective has been to build resilient, equitable health systems capable of delivering universal health coverage and ensuring health security.
But the context has changed. External assistance for health has declined by about 40 percent globally, even as demand for services continues to grow. This is forcing countries to rethink how they expand fiscal space for health — not by replacing public financing but by complementing and reinforcing it.
This new reality calls for a broader approach to health financing: one that looks beyond traditional sources to innovative mechanisms capable of mobilizing new capital while strengthening equitable pooling to ensure financial protection for all.
