Informing the design of policies aimed at increasing health financial protection to accelerate universal health coverage in West Africa

这项研究项目的目的是双重的。首先，我们的目标是提供目前缺乏数据的西非经济和货币联盟(西非经货联盟)八个国家的灾难性医疗支出发生率和医疗保险覆盖面的最新估计。其次，我们旨在通过模拟研究来探索公共医疗保险制度改革对目标人群经济福利的潜在影响。该项目的总体目标是为制定更知情的政策提供信息，旨在增加财政健康保障，以加快该地区的全民健康覆盖(UHC)。2022年，我们与哈佛大学和WAEMU统计办公室的同事密切合作，收集、清理和分析了关于WAEMU地区家庭生活条件的第一波数据。2023年3月，首席调查员访问了塞内加尔达喀尔西非经货联盟地区的政策制定者，介绍了初步研究结果，并对其解释进行了巩固。目前正在编写一份手稿，拟在同行评议的期刊上发表，以报告2018-2022年期间上述UHC关键指标。

The purpose of this research project is twofold. Firstly, we aim to provide up-to-date estimates of the incidence of catastrophic health expenditures and health insurance coverage in the eight countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), where data are currently lacking. Secondly, we aim to explore the potential impacts of reforming public health insurance systems on the economic welfare of target populations by means of simulation studies. The overarching objective of the project is to inform the development of better-informed policies aimed at increasing financial health protection to accelerate universal health coverage (UHC) in the region.In 2022, we collected, cleaned, and analyzed the first wave of data on the living conditions of households in the WAEMU region, in close collaboration with our colleagues at Harvard University and at the WAEMU's Office of Statistics. In March 2023, the Principal Investigator visited policymakers from the WAEMU region in Dakar, Senegal, to present the preliminary research findings and to consolidate their interpretation. A manuscript intended to be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal is currently in preparation to report on the abovementioned key UHC indicators over the period 2018-2022.