The Health Spending Observatory intends to provide regular analysis on the dynamics of health spending. This includes the analysis of the State Budget, financial arrears, and financing sources of the health system, among others.

This policy brief investigates current health expenditure in Guinea-Bissau - a country with which Portugal cooperates in various fields, through bilateral and multilateral agreements, to combat poverty and promote sustainable development. At the beginning of the 21st century, public domestic expenditure was the largest component of current health expenditure in Guinea-Bissau (46.68%). However, in 2010 there was a sharp decrease in domestic public current health expenditure per capita (a reduction of 60.76%), partly due to political instability. The reduction in public spending on health translated into an increase in direct household spending on healthcare. This, in turn, contributed to an increase in the percentage of the population placed in extreme poverty due to health spending.

Despite the reduction in domestic public spending on health in Guinea-Bissau over the last two decades, universal health coverage has increased, partly due to the collaboration of external donors.

See report in Portuguese. 

This report is part of the Social Equity Initiative, a partnership between Fundación "la Caixa" , BancoBPI, and Nova School of Business and Economics. 

Authors of the study: Pedro Pita Barros and Carolina Borges da Cunha Santos