Abstract In May 2006, the President of Burundi announced the removal of user fees in all
health centres and hospitals for children under 5 and women giving birth. As other studies …

In recent years, governments of several low-income countries have taken decisive action by
removing fully or partially user fees in the health sector. In this study, we review recent …

This research on user fee removal in three African countries is located at the interface of
public policy analysis and health systems research. Public policy analysis has gradually …

Background While more and more West African countries are implementing public user fees
exemption policies, there is still little knowledge available on this topic. The long time …

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 African policy-makers are increasingly considering abolishing user fees as a
solution to improve access to health care systems. There is little evidence on this subject in …

Effective mechanisms to exempt the indigent from user fees at health care facilities are rare
in Africa. A State-led intervention (2004–2005) and two action research projects (2007 …

Inadequate health financing is one of the major challenges health systems in low-income
countries currently face. Health financing reforms are being implemented with an increasing …

This article analyzes the historical background of the institutionalization of user fees and
their subsequent abolition in West Africa. Based on a narrative review, we present the …

Several authors have stressed the fact that many policy reforms fail because of poor
formulation or implementation. On the other hand, the health financing literature provides …