Leveraging Digital Financial Services to Advance Universal Health Coverage

Advances in digital technology have created opportunities to expand financial protection and improve health system performance and service quality. Yet there has been limited evidence of whether and how digital financial services (DFS) impact health system utilization and performance, and financial protection for beneficiaries.

During this session, we present new global evidence on how DFS can improve the coverage, equity, efficiency, quality, and responsiveness of health services, and what social, regulatory, and other factors contribute to those results. Lead researchers from Rwanda and Kenya provide examples of how DFS helped individuals save for health costs, obtain health insurance, or gain access to health funds through remittances, vouchers, and microcredit. Insights from two diverse case studies clarify which critical program components enable or inhibit success. We conclude with an interactive discussion of implementation considerations and recommendations for future action.