Background Out-of-pocket payments in health care have been shown to impose significant
burden on households in Sub-Saharan Africa, leading to constrained access to health care …

Although user fees are a common form of healthcare financing in resource-poor countries,
there is growing consensus that their use compromises health service utilisation and …

Background User fee removal policies have been extensively evaluated in relation to their
impact on access to care, but rarely, and mostly poorly, in relation to their impact on …

In Africa, user fees constitute a financial barrier to access to health services. Increasingly,
international aid agencies are supporting countries that abolish such fees. However, African …

Background Removing user fees in primary health care services is one of the most critical
policy issues being considered in Africa. User fees were introduced in many African …

Many low-and middle-income countries continue to search for better ways of financing their
health systems. Common to many of these systems are problems of inadequate resource …

There is currently considerable discussion between governments, international agencies,
bilateral donors and advocacy groups on whether user fees levied at government health …

Poor access to health care is one of the greatest impediments to improved health in Africa. In
Zambia, user fees are considered to be partly responsible for substantial disparities in …

Executive summary Policy makers in the health sector face a continuous search for optimal
methods of financing and funding national health services. In public finance and health care …

Background Ghana introduced a national health insurance program in 2005 with the goal of
removing user fees, popularly called “cash and carry”, along with their associated …