Over the past decade, many low- and middle-income countries have made expanding health coverage a national priority. The push toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC) has catalyzed this effort, yet progress to date has been uneven and often excludes poor, vulnerable, and otherwise marginalized individuals. This is partly due to challenges in effectively identifying and reaching these groups, especially in countries characterized by large, heterogeneous populations with a high proportion of informal sector workers.
Targeting mechanisms represent powerful ways to maximize the impact of social programs by directing limited resources to those who stand to benefit most. Robust targeting is an important component of UHC schemes that effectively reach poor populations. Many countries have experimented with various targeting mechanisms in the health sector and in social protection more broadly, but the design, implementation, and maintenance of these programs present significant challenges, and often requires health officials to work with colleagues from other sectors.
Aceso Global is strengthening efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage by bringing together countries to think about how to adopt more effective targeting mechanisms that can direct resources to those who are underserved by current systems. Through the Joint Learning Network’s (JLN) Learning Collaborative on Population Targeting (LCPT), Aceso Global has established a platform for JLN members to increase their understanding of effective targeting systems for health. LCPT focuses on actionable components of effective targeting systems, with the intention to identify potential co-produced outputs and set the stage for in-country implementation of one or more interventions. Specifically, JLN members have identified three thematic areas as being of greatest priority, which form the basis for LCPT learning activities ongoing through 2021:
For more resources regarding population targeting and specifically the Learning Collaborative’s focus themes, as well as more information regarding our activities, please visit our e-Library.
The Learning Collaborative is an initiative of the Joint Learning Network (JLN), an innovative, country-driven network of healthcare practitioners and policymakers from low- and middle-income countries globally who work together to bridge the gap between evidence and action in the health sector.
Support from: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, German Society for International Cooperation, Rockefeller Foundation, The World Bank
