The CDP-H is a three-year program, which provides for World Bank technical support to help Thailand improve the development of the country’s health sector. Thailand has enjoyed significant successes in improving public health, judging from the steady decline in child and maternal mortality since the 1960s. However, changing demographic and disease patterns, as well as financial pressures from the provision of universal health insurance coverage, has been hampering efforts by the Government to sustain current healthcare programs.
Â
The CDP-H is designed to help the Government address these issues. Its three components aim to (i) improve the effectiveness of Thailand’s HIV/AIDS response, (ii) improve the effectiveness of public expenditures in the health sector, and (iii) improve the sector’s human resources and workforce management.
Â
Under the first component, the World Bank will help line Government agencies revitalize their HIV/AIDS prevention programs. To achieve this objective, the Bank will support the analysis of changing disease patterns in Thailand, as well as the development and the implementation of an effective HIV/AIDS intervention strategy. It will also help the Government seek ways to ensure that HIV/AIDS prevention programs receive adequate and sustainable financing.
Â
The second component is designed to support the implementation and the management of three public health insurance schemes – the Universal Coverage Scheme, the Social Health Insurance Scheme for formal sector employees, and the Civil Servant Medical Benefit Scheme for public sector employees and dependants. Expenditures associated with these three schemes account for almost three quarters of the overall Government spending in health sector. This component will also address the financial implications of these schemes on the Government budget and take into account the recent Government decision to scrap the 30-baht co-payment program in favor of free medical coverage.
The World Bank will assist the Government to evaluate financial needs for all three schemes, identify the sources of funds, and analyze cost pressures on the universal coverage scheme that would arise from changing demographic and disease patterns. It will also help the Government develop policy options to harmonize the three public health insurance schemes. The objective is to ensure efficient use of public resources for medical care and services, which will help the Government sustain public health program financing in the long run.
Thailand’s three public health insurance schemes cover about 74 percent of the population |
The last component of the CDP-H is focused on improving human resources in the health sector, which has been confronted with the dearth of qualified professionals, especially in the rural or remote areas. This component is part of the regional World Bank program on health sector human resources. The World Bank and the Thai Government will jointly conduct an in-depth analysis of the problems regarding managing health professionals in Thailand. As the lead member of the Asia Pacific Action Alliance on Human Resources for Health (AAAH), Thailand has been very active in using the AAAH mechanism to address human resource needs in its health sector. (AAAH was set up in 2005 to help countries in the region strengthen their own planning and management of human resources for health). To continue the spirit of this partnership, the World Bank will support the regional dissemination of lessons learned by Thailand. Partners in the CDP-H:
:: Ministry of Public Health (primary partner)
:: National Health Security Office (NHSO)
:: International Health Policy Program (IHPP)
:: Department of Disease Control
:: National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB)
::Â Ministry of Finance
::Â Ministry of Interior
::Â Ministry of Labor Financial support for the CDP-H comes from:
::Â The Institutional Development Fund
::Â World Bank-Netherlands Partnership Program
:: The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria  |
RSS