Universal health coverage (UHC) is a core part of the Sustainable Development Goals, aiming to ensure that everyone can access the health services they need without financial hardship. Understanding the role and potential of health financing to achieve UHC in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) is more important than ever. Many people still lack access to essential health services, and the incidence of catastrophic out-of-pocket payments has risen, particularly in LMICs. This growing burden has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, rising refugee numbers, the increase of extreme weather events, and cuts in aid budgets. As a result, critical questions remain about how to sustainably, efficiently, and equitably finance UHC in the future. This book brings together a team of authors, predominantly from LMICs, to identify and analyse priority health financing issues in their respective countries and regions. It lays out key concepts, offers practical guidance, and provides empirical examples from a range of LMICs. The book covers the core health financing functions, including revenue generation, pooling, allocation, and payment mechanisms. This includes monitoring and tracking health financing dimensions such as funding levels, equity, efficiency, and financial risk protection as well as exploring emerging challenges and opportunities, such as public financial management, fiscal space, governance, and political economy analysis. This book is designed for students, researchers, and practitioners engaged in health financing, including those without a formal background in economics. It serves as a practical handbook, to equip readers with the tools to address health financing research and policy, and understand related challenges, in diverse LMIC contexts. Ultimately, this book is intended for anyone interested in how health financing systems can be strengthened to support universal access, informed by the firsthand experiences – both good and bad – of LMICs.
