Assessment and recommendations

Country experience has shown that the development and institutionalisation of National Health Accounts (NHA) is a cornerstone in the provision of sound evidence on health financing and resource allocations. The establishment of strong governance structures, sufficient capacity and sustainable processes to produce regular, accurate and timely data is important in better informing health policy and budgetary decisions. At the national level, timely and accurate measures can assist in monitoring progress against stated health system objectives, such as moves towards universal health coverage, the reduction of the financial burden on households, or the introduction of health system and financing reforms. Furthermore, the production of such data and indicators according to recognised standards and definitions is seen as important in benchmarking health spending in a meaningful international context.