Abolishing user fees for patients in West Africa : lessons for public policy
Date
2013-05
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Publisher
Agence française de développement (AFD)
Abstract
This work is based on five articles that focus on three poor West African countries: Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. The articles address healthcare fee exemption policies, more specifically: decision making processes, free healthcare, the targeted clientele, actual implementation procedures, quality of care, difficulties encountered and some results of the studies. Due to lack of preparation, communication, effective management and most of all, adequate funding, the operation of measures is chaotic and inconsistent in most cases. Many unexpected effects were revealed by the research, notably the fact that quality of care is far from reliable due to shortages in supplies.
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Keywords
USER CHARGES, WEST AFRICA, GOVERNMENT POLICY, PUBLIC HEALTH, HEALTH POLICY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, DECISION MAKING, HEALTH-CARE DELIVERY, POLITICAL WILL, ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE, HEALTHCARE COSTS, NIGER, MALI, BURKINA FASO, SOUTH OF SAHARA, MEDICAL SUPPLIES, HEALTH FINANCING