Health Expenditures in Pakistan: Cross-Checking Household Expenditure Data on Health for NHA and Adjustment with National Accounts
by Christian Lorenz
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ)
Asia Health Policy Programme (AHPP) Working Paper #14, 10 June 2010
Adobe PDF file (17 pp. 145 kB)
According to hitherto available data, health expenditures in Pakistan are relatively low in international comparison. To answer the question whether these data reflect the real situation in Pakistan or whether they exist due to statistical problems, Pakistan, for the first time, developed its National Health Accounts (NHA) in 2009. Only the availability of good estimates of health expenditures allows for evidence-based policymaking and therefore good governance. The results clearly indicate that the situation in Pakistan is better than what was earlier estimated; however, the total health expenditure is still low compared to neighbouring countries and other low income countries.
