WHO/Europe is pleased to announce that the WHO Barcelona course on health financing for universal health coverage is coming to Almaty, Kazakhstan, featuring a newly tailored programme designed specifically for central Asian countries.
This intensive course, organized by the WHO Barcelona Office for Health Systems Financing in collaboration with the WHO European Centre for Primary Health Care, aims to equip policy-makers with the knowledge and skills needed to enhance health systems financing and advance towards universal health coverage (UHC).
Participants will explore key policy issues, such as why some countries invest more in health care, how to make health financing more efficient and equitable, and how to ensure affordable access to essential services. The course is designed to be highly interactive, featuring hands-on activities and group work that focus on identifying key primary health care (PHC) financing issues, analysing root causes, and exploring practical solutions – taking a pragmatic approach as well as offering theoretical insights.
This edition of the course in Almaty will bring together around 60 key policy-makers and senior managers from the health and social policy sectors – including representatives from ministries of health, health insurance funds, finance ministries and government administrations – and regional leaders from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The course will run for 3 days (Tuesday–Thursday), with an additional day (Friday) dedicated to country-specific sessions under the theme “Smart financing, stronger PHC: operationalizing key strategies for better health outcomes”.
The course will be conducted in English and Russian.
Why a course on health systems financing?
UHC – ensuring everyone can use quality health care without experiencing financial hardship – is a Sustainable Development Goal and a core priority of the WHO European Programme of Work, 2020–2025. Health financing policy plays a key role in moving countries towards UHC. By understanding the principles of health financing policy and assessing options for reform, policy-makers will be better able to design and implement effective strategies to improve affordable access to health care.
About the course
The course is designed for policy-makers in the health and social policy sectors, senior managers in organizations delivering health care, and experts engaged in health system reform. It has trained over 1000 experts since its launch in 2011.
The course reviews effective policy instruments to improve health financing policy through the following modules:
- Coordinating reform – aligning policy instruments with policy objectives
- Financial protection – securing affordable access to health care
- Raising revenues – thinking outside the box
- Pooling health revenues – reducing fragmentation
- Purchasing – getting more health for the money
- Re-designing coverage policy for equity, affordability and transparency.