Health economics and financing

Health and health care are major economic and political issues. Health economics is a branch of economics that is concerned with how resources are allocated and used in different health systems. Health financing is a major focus of health economics and is important in analysing health policies, sources of funds and effectiveness of health services delivered to the population. The goal of health financing is to ensure adequate spending on health (relative to income at national, local government and household levels) and effective allocation of financial resources to different types of public and personal health services.

Health financing arrangements prevalent in the region are still inadequate to provide comprehensive, equitable and good-quality health care services for the population.

For information on the work that the World Health Organization does in health economics and health financing, please visit our webpage on Health financing and social protection.