R4D Managing Director Cheryl Cashin and other speakers convened for the launch of the Lancet Global Health Commission on Financing Primary Health Care’s new report on global expenditures on primary health care (PHC). PHC is globally recognized as a critical piece of successful health systems and is an essential component of universal health coverage. Unfortunately, PHC often does not meet the needs of patients and providers due to various reasons: insufficient public funding, inequitable access to PHC services, and out-of-pocket expenses patients often have to pay.
The Lancet Global Health Commission on financing primary health care set out to uncover new evidence on global expenditures on PHC, including on how PHC is currently managed and financed in different countries, on technical and political challenges that arise, on promising practices for supporting PHC across the health financing functions; and on existing policies that support low-income and middle-income countries in raising, allocating, and channeling funding for the delivery of effective, efficient, and equitable care.
In this Lancet Webinar, several authors of the Commission presented the findings of the report, and a panel of key stakeholders in PHC reflected on its implications. The session concluded with an audience Q&A session.
