WHO Report: Financial Protection in Europe

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published a study that deals with the question whether or not people are able to afford paying for health care in Europe. Financial protection is central to universal health coverage (UHC), which aims to ensure that everyone can use the health services they need without experiencing financial hardship. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for the monitoring of financial protection as one of two indicators for UHC under SDG target 3.8. The WHO Regional Office for Europe is committed to supporting countries to move towards UHC, as reflected in two recent resolutions adopted by the WHO Regional Committee for Europe.

The study provides up-to-date numbers using household-level data for 24 countries in Europe, drawing on the most recent year available. IHS was among the national experts that provided the country-level analysis for Austria.

Further information