Health systems governance and financing & COVID-19

Strengthening frontline services for pandemic response, the current priority for governments given the COVID-19 virus outbreak, requires supportive health financing policies. WHO’s guidance on health financing policy is ultimately focused on strengthening health system resilience, health security and universal health coverage (UHC). Our thinking focuses on raising adequate revenues for health systems, organizing those revenues in order to maximize risk-sharing across the entire population, and spending those funds in the best way to improve the health of all citizens of a country. Public financial management is a cross-cutting theme across these core functions.

Short-term measures in response to COVID-19 must be carefully streamlined, and WHO is heavily involved with colleagues to provide comprehensive guidance to countries on the types of actions and adjustments needed to support the response. Questions include: