MICS surveys measure key indicators that allow countries to generate data for use in
policies and programmes, and to monitor progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and
other internationally agreed upon commitments.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR):
Global Health Science and Practice. First published online November 12, 2015
Policy Note #4: Myanmar Health Systems in Transition Policy Notes Series
Protecting people from financial hardship when they fall ill is one of the two key elements of universal health coverage (UHC). In practice, this means that the majority of health care costs have to be met from government ...revenues so that services are provided free or with a small affordable co-payment. The alternative is to rely on pre-payment through some form of insurance, where risks are pooled across all contributors.
The challenge in Myanmar is that at present neither approach is functioning. Government spending is too low to meet people’s health needs and the proportion of the population covered by insurance is negligible. As a result, families face a stark choice in the event of serious illness: either defer treatment and face the consequences, or incur what can amount to catastrophic expenses and a downward spiral of disinvestment and poverty.
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Gurejeet al. BMC Health Services Research (2015) 15:242
DOI 10.1186/s12913-015-0911-3