Project report
Papua New Guinea - Health financing system assessment
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Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This report assesses how health care is paid for in Papua New Guinea and whether the system can be sustained. It notes new investment in infrastructure, new policies, the rollout of Provincial Health Authorities and fewer malaria cases. However, key indicators of health access and quality, including maternal and child health, barely improved or declined between 2006 and 2015. Money for health will be tight in the medium term, and the government is expected to pay a larger share of vaccine costs as Gavi support ends by 2021.
Key points
- Investments were made in medical stores, training facilities and hospitals, and malaria incidence fell.
- Key indicators of health access and quality, such as maternal and child health, barely improved or declined from 2006 to 2015.
- Resources for health financing will be limited in the medium term because of constraints on domestic revenue and the budget.
- The government will increase its co-financing of vaccines while Gavi reduces its contribution, and will graduate from Gavi support by 2021.
- The government must keep meeting its GFATM co-financing obligations and prepare for the eventual transition from that programme.
Limitations
Only the introduction of the report is available, so the detailed expenditure and donor-dependence findings are not shown. The text covers health financing in general and gives few child-specific figures.
Abstract
The health sector of Papua New Guinea (PNG) has seen significant positive developments in recent years. These include investments in critical infrastructure (especially medical stores, training facilities, and hospitals), the establishment of key policies, the steady rollout of the Provincial Health Authority (PHA) model, and a reduction in the incidence of malaria. Key indicators of health access and quality have, however, barely improved or have even declined (for example, maternal and child health) from 2006 to 2015 (National Department of Health, NDoH 2016). In addition, the availability of resources for health financing will be limited in the medium term as the government grapples with constraints such as domestic revenue mobilization, achieving a balanced budget, and restoration of macroeconomic stability. Overall, the pace of long-term progress in key health indicators is slowing down and, given the reduced expenditure projections, the health sector is in a critical phase. During this time, the government will be expected to increase its share of co-financing for vaccines, while Gavi gradually decreases their contribution. By 2021, the Government of PNG (GoPNG) will graduate from Gavi support, while maintaining access to Gavi prices. The government also needs to continue to meet its co-financing obligations with GFATM and prepare for the eventual transition from the program. Given this backdrop, the Health Financing System Assessment (HFSA), which evaluates the financing system and institutional sustainability, comes at an opportune time. The report begins by providing a comprehensive background, including an overview of PNG’s economic situation, health demographics, health financing, human resources for health and the health system. It then analyses two areas critical to sustainable health financing: (i) PNG expenditure, with a focus on levels and sources of health expenditure, as well as resource allocation; and (ii) PNG reliance on donor resources, in particular, the GFATM and Gavi. (Papua New Guinea)