SHIELD
Strategies for Health Insurance for Equity
in Less Developed Countries
Strategies for Health Insurance for Equity
in Less Developed Countries
SHIELD is a 3 year project which critically analyses alternative approaches to health insurance in Ghana, Tanzania and South Africa as a mechanism for addressing health system equity challenges and in turn contributing to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. This will be achieved through evaluating the distribution of the burden of health care financing between socio-economic groups, and the factors influencing this distribution will be evaluated. Concurrently, the distribution of health care benefits across socio-economic groups and health system related factors that influence this distribution of benefits will be assessed. This will be complimented by an identification and critical evaluation of current experiences, and options for the likely future development, of health insurance mechanisms (particularly mandatory insurance and insurance for non-formal sectors) in and between Ghana, South Africa and Tanzania. Assessment of health insurance options will particularly focus on their actual and/or potential equity impact and their feasibility and sustainability given the attitudes and preferences of key stakeholders. Finally, the project will develop strategies and policy recommendations on health insurance mechanisms that will most appropriately address the identified health system equity challenges.
Funding
SHIELD is funded by the European Commission (Sixth Framework Programme; Specific Targeted Research Project no:FP6-2004-INCO-DEV-3-032289) and by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
