Review of Public Health Expenditure in the Republic of Tajikistan : Discussion Paper

This Public Expenditure Review updates previous assessments of the levels and efficiency of health financing in Tajikistan and its consequences for healthcare access and health of the Tajik population. Funding for the public healthcare system which...

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Main Authors: Neelsen, Sven, Egamov, Farrukh, Dorgabekova, Husniya, Madeville, Kate
Format: Working Paper
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/139391628147971743/Discussion-Paper
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36125
id okr-10986-36125
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-361252021-08-17T05:10:56Z Review of Public Health Expenditure in the Republic of Tajikistan : Discussion Paper Neelsen, Sven Egamov, Farrukh Dorgabekova, Husniya Madeville, Kate PUBLIC HEALTH EXPENDITURE HEALTH SYSTEM PERFORMANCE ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICES PRIVATE HEALTH SPENDING HEALTH FINANCING This Public Expenditure Review updates previous assessments of the levels and efficiency of health financing in Tajikistan and its consequences for healthcare access and health of the Tajik population. Funding for the public healthcare system which provides almost all healthcare remains far short of levels required to provide a universal basic benefit package. As a result, household out-of-pocket payments account for most healthcare spending in the country, and Tajiks frequently forgo needed care for financial reasons. The underfunding of public healthcare in part results from an overall lack of public revenues. It is, however, exacerbated by the health sector enjoying limited priority, with a health share in total government spending far below internationally recognized targets. Inefficiencies in the spending of the limited public funds further undermine the system’s ability to provide the population with basic healthcare of appropriate quality. Despite efforts in the past two decades to introduce elements of strategic purchasing and direct a higher share of funding towards primary care, public health financing in Tajikistan still largely follows the centrally planned, hospital-focused, and mainly input-financed Semashko model. The result are substantial regional inequalities in per capita government health spending which reflect differences in health facility and health worker densities rather than healthcare need, a continued overemphasis on hospital and specialist care, and an inability of facility managers to take efficiency-oriented staffing decisions. Key recommendation to address these shortcoming are that a substantially higher share of public revenues be allocated to the health sector, that an independent, single payer organization, a fully-fledged capitation mechanism for primary care and elements of strategic purchasing for inpatient care be gradually introduced, and that current benefit packages are revised and extended to achieve more rational and equitable healthcare utilization. Broad consensus building among stakeholders will be essential for the success of such reforms. 2021-08-16T14:58:54Z 2021-08-16T14:58:54Z 2021-07 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/139391628147971743/Discussion-Paper http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36125 English CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Working Paper Europe and Central Asia Tajikistan
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic PUBLIC HEALTH EXPENDITURE
HEALTH SYSTEM PERFORMANCE
ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICES
PRIVATE HEALTH SPENDING
HEALTH FINANCING
spellingShingle PUBLIC HEALTH EXPENDITURE
HEALTH SYSTEM PERFORMANCE
ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICES
PRIVATE HEALTH SPENDING
HEALTH FINANCING
Neelsen, Sven
Egamov, Farrukh
Dorgabekova, Husniya
Madeville, Kate
Review of Public Health Expenditure in the Republic of Tajikistan : Discussion Paper
geographic_facet Europe and Central Asia
Tajikistan
description This Public Expenditure Review updates previous assessments of the levels and efficiency of health financing in Tajikistan and its consequences for healthcare access and health of the Tajik population. Funding for the public healthcare system which provides almost all healthcare remains far short of levels required to provide a universal basic benefit package. As a result, household out-of-pocket payments account for most healthcare spending in the country, and Tajiks frequently forgo needed care for financial reasons. The underfunding of public healthcare in part results from an overall lack of public revenues. It is, however, exacerbated by the health sector enjoying limited priority, with a health share in total government spending far below internationally recognized targets. Inefficiencies in the spending of the limited public funds further undermine the system’s ability to provide the population with basic healthcare of appropriate quality. Despite efforts in the past two decades to introduce elements of strategic purchasing and direct a higher share of funding towards primary care, public health financing in Tajikistan still largely follows the centrally planned, hospital-focused, and mainly input-financed Semashko model. The result are substantial regional inequalities in per capita government health spending which reflect differences in health facility and health worker densities rather than healthcare need, a continued overemphasis on hospital and specialist care, and an inability of facility managers to take efficiency-oriented staffing decisions. Key recommendation to address these shortcoming are that a substantially higher share of public revenues be allocated to the health sector, that an independent, single payer organization, a fully-fledged capitation mechanism for primary care and elements of strategic purchasing for inpatient care be gradually introduced, and that current benefit packages are revised and extended to achieve more rational and equitable healthcare utilization. Broad consensus building among stakeholders will be essential for the success of such reforms.
format Working Paper
author Neelsen, Sven
Egamov, Farrukh
Dorgabekova, Husniya
Madeville, Kate
author_facet Neelsen, Sven
Egamov, Farrukh
Dorgabekova, Husniya
Madeville, Kate
author_sort Neelsen, Sven
title Review of Public Health Expenditure in the Republic of Tajikistan : Discussion Paper
title_short Review of Public Health Expenditure in the Republic of Tajikistan : Discussion Paper
title_full Review of Public Health Expenditure in the Republic of Tajikistan : Discussion Paper
title_fullStr Review of Public Health Expenditure in the Republic of Tajikistan : Discussion Paper
title_full_unstemmed Review of Public Health Expenditure in the Republic of Tajikistan : Discussion Paper
title_sort review of public health expenditure in the republic of tajikistan : discussion paper
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2021
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/139391628147971743/Discussion-Paper
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36125
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