Provoding Universal Health Care Coverage Around The Globe - World Health Organization Bulleting

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 04 Nov 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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The Bulletin of the World Health Organization (WHO) devotes the entire November issue to health care financing. In one article, authors look at China's new effort to provide health care coverage to all citizens, the biggest overhaul in the world. Another looks at Rwanda's success in covering 85% of the population in a basic health insurance scheme. Also in the November issue is a conversation with Paul Krugman, a New York Times columnist, Princeton University professor, and the winner of this year's Nobel Prize in economics who answers questions from Bulletin editors about the possibilities for universal coverage in the United States.

Another article in the health financing issue discusses the possibilities of reducing dependence on foreign aid to fund health care in some developing countries. Up to 60% of health expenditure in some countries comes from external sources, a situation that is unsustainable and detrimental to local economies, according to the authors. The authors suggest some of these countries can wean themselves from this dependency by cutting back on inefficiencies, fighting corruption and diverting excessive military expenditure to health.

The Bulletin of the World Health Organization is an international journal of public health with a special focus on developing countries.

Full text of the articles and others can be found here.

The Bulletin of the World Health Organization was created by WHO as a forum for public health experts to publish their findings, express their views and engage a wider audience on critical public health issues of the day. Consequently, the views expressed by the writers in these pages do not necessarily represent the views of WHO.

Source
Fiona Fleck
News Editor
Bulletin of the World Health Organization
http://www.who.int

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