Health financing policy in conflict affected settings – lessons from ReBUILD research

This brief outlines the findings from ReBUILD’s phase 1 research on health financing policies in post-conflict settings and how these have affected access to health care for the most vulnerable populations.

You can download the brief here.

Health financing policies that support universal access to health care without causing impoverishment are critical for health and economic development in any setting. Vulnerable populations that are affected by a history of conflict require particular attention to ensure that their households, communities and societies are not permanently scarred by the legacy of that conflict.

During and after conflict or crisis, household structures change. In many conflicts, men are significantly more likely to die than women, conflict or crisis can create a ‘missing generation’. Conflict can also create new vulnerabilities. Through these and other household changes, conflict and crisis affect the ways households can access health care, and the poorest households can be worst hit, despite efforts to target healthcare interventions at such households.

ReBUILD’s research on health financing specifically examined the interaction between health systems, financing policies and conflict in all four of ReBUILD’s study countries, and has helped to understand how some of the particular effects of conflict on poor households affect how they can access healthcare.