PHA-Exchange> Social health protection: an ILO strategy towards universal access to health care

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Ruggiero, Mrs. Ana Lucia (WDC) ruglucia at paho.org
 EQUIDAD at listserv.paho.org

*Social* *health* *protection*: *an **ILO* *strategy* *towards* *universal*
*access* *to* *health* *care*.

*Draft for consultation** **

*

*Issues in Social Protection; Discussion Paper 19 International Labour
Office, Geneva 2007 ISBN: 978-92-2-1200970... *

Available online as PDF file [94p.] at:
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/secsoc/downloads/healthpolicy.pdf

* *"…..Affordability of health care is a key issue in most countries: in
high-income countries, increasing costs, financial constraints of public
budgets and economic considerations regarding international competitiveness
are calling for reforms in social health protection as a political priority.
In middle- and low-income countries, ensuring affordable health care is high
on the development agenda given the large numbers of people lacking
sufficient financial means to access health services: worldwide, more than
100 million people are pushed into poverty every year by the need to pay for
health care.

Denied access to medically necessary health care has a significant social
and economic impact(*): aside from effects on health and poverty, the close
link between health, labour market and income generation affects economic
growth and development. This is due to the fact that healthier workers have
higher productivity, and labour supply increases if morbidity and mortality
rates are lower.

Universal social health protection ensures that all people in need have
effective access to at least essential care and is thus a key mechanism for
achieving these objectives. It is designed to alleviate the burden posed by
ill health, including death, disability and loss of income. Social health
protection coverage also reduces the indirect costs of disease and
disability, such as lost years of income due to death, short and long-term
disability, care of family members, lower productivity, and hampered
education and social development of children due to sickness. It hence plays
a significant role in poverty alleviation….."

 (*): SOCIAL HEALTH PROTECTION, FOR ME, IS AN IMPERATIVE, NOT BECAUSE IT
'HAS A SIGNIFICANT SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT', BUT BECAUSE IT IS AN
INALIENABLE HUMAN RIGHTS. I DO NOT SEE THIS REFLECTED HERE.   Claudio

*Contents*

*Foreword*

*1. Introduction*

*2. What is social health protection?*

*3. Financing social health protection: The current situation *

*4. Coverage of social health protection and access to health services *

a. ILO concepts and definitions of coverage and access

b. Trends and data on formal social health protection coverage

c. The global access deficit: An attempt to estimate its dimension

d. The global access deficit: Some detailed observations

*5. Rationalizing the use of pluralistic financing mechanisms: **
**An ILO strategy** **for achieving universal coverage in social health
protection*

*6. Conclusion*

*Annex *
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