Comparative cross-country analysis demonstrates reduced financial hardship with public sector healthcare in South Asian populations, highlighting the need for sustained public financing.
Universal health coverage (UHC) remains a major challenge in South Asia despite substantial improvements in health outcomes, service coverage, and schemes for financial protection. This article examines UHC achievement in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, with particular attention to the role of the public sector. Drawing on publicly available cross-country data on service coverage, financial protection, and health service utilisation, we compare patterns of UHC performance across the region. While high service coverage is achieved in countries with both high and low public sector utilisation, greater reliance on public sector services was associated with lower financial hardship. These findings underscore the importance of adequate and sustained public financing for healthcare, and effective governance of mixed health systems to advance equitable progress towards UHC.
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Joshi et al. (2026) studied this question.
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