Demand Side Financing in Health: How far can it address the issue of low utilization in developing countries?

Overview

The concept  of Demand Side Financing (DSF) in health  originated in response to developing  countries’ felt need to improve access to and utilization  of  health services, particularly among the poor. Policymakers in developing countries have come to  realize that public health services, interventions and innovations have not  yielded the desired health outcomes due to serious issues concerning the efficiency, fairness and  quality  of the health systems that have  been created  and  maintained through significant taxbased financing. 

This report is part of a series, The World Health Report 2010 Background Papers, which were written to inform the process of developing the key messages of the World Health Report 2010: Health systems financing: The path to universal coverage.