A/67/302
Interim report of the Special Rapporteur on the right of
everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable
standard of physical and mental health
Summary
The present report considers health financing in the context of the right to
health. Full realization of the right to health is contingent upon the availability of
adequate, equitable and sustainable financing for health, at both the domestic and
international levels. The present report thus discusses the obligation of States to
ensure adequate, equitable and sustainable domestic funding for health. The report
addresses three critical areas in health financing: how States ensure adequate funds
are available for health and the sources from which they raise these funds; how these
funds are pooled; and how funds and resources are allocated within health systems
towards ensuring universal access to good quality health facilities, goods and
services. The Special Rapporteur also explores a number of substantive issues in this
regard, including taxation and international funding for health; pooling mechanisms,
including social health insurance; and allocative concerns, such as allocation of
health funds and resources between primary, secondary, and tertiary health care and
the resource divide between rural, remote and urban areas. The Special Rapporteur
concludes his report with a set of recommendations on ensuring availability of
adequate resources for health, pooling funds and allocating health funds equitably.
Contents
Page
I.
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
II.
Conceptual framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4
A.
Ensuring adequate funds and prioritizing health financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4
B.
Pooling and allocation of health funds and resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5
C.
International assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7
Substantive issues in health financing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7
A.
Ensuring adequate funds for health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7
B.
Pooling of domestic funds for health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13
C.
Allocation of health funds and resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18
Conclusions and recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20
III.
IV.
2
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