Progress towards universal health coverage: monitoring financial protection in the Western Pacific Region

Abstract

Financial protection lies at the core of universal health coverage. The regional monitoring report on financial protection shows that the Region was off-track to reduce financial hardship due to health expenditures based on data available from 13 countries, from 2000 to 2017. Disaggregated data analysis further suggests that in the Western Pacific Region, the populations most affected by financial hardship are the most vulnerable and include poor, older and rural households; and that medicines are the main driver of out-of-pocket spending in countries where data were available. Although several health reforms and health policies have been implemented in the Region, more effective policies are needed to improve financial protection.