A Look at Haiti's Health Financing: Better Spending, Better Care
Summary — This World Bank report analyzes Haiti's health financing system to identify constraints and opportunities for accelerating progress toward universal health coverage. Despite relatively high health spending, Haiti shows poor health outcomes and low efficiency compared to other low-income countries.
Key Findings
- Haiti's total health expenditure is 7.6% of GDP, higher than low-income country average (5.7%), but health outcomes remain poor, indicating low efficiency.
- Maternal and child mortality fell by half between 1990-2015, but still need to decline 80% and 64% respectively by 2030 to meet SDGs.
- Service coverage is dramatically lower for poorest populations - deliveries in health facilities 8 times more frequent for highest wealth quintile (76%) than lowest (9%).
- Technical efficiency scores are very low compared to other low-income countries, with medical staff seeing only 6 patients per day.
- Ministry allocates 90% of operating budget to personnel costs, leaving insufficient funds for essential drugs and equipment.
Full Description
This comprehensive World Bank report examines Haiti's health financing system with the goal of formulating a long-term vision to accelerate progress toward universal health coverage (UHC). The study was conducted in partnership with Haiti's Ministry of Public Health and Population and represents the first systematic assessment of Haiti's health financing system. The report analyzes health outcomes, system efficiency, access to services, and financing mechanisms.
The analysis reveals that while Haiti has made significant progress on key health outcomes since the 1990s, with maternal and child mortality falling by about half between 1990 and 2015, the country still performs worse than many low-income countries in terms of service coverage and equitable access. The maternal mortality ratio and under-5 mortality rate need to decline by 80% and 64% respectively by 2030 to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.
A key finding is that Haiti's total health expenditure represents 7.6% of GDP, higher than the low-income country average of 5.7%, yet health outcomes are not significantly better, indicating low overall efficiency. The report identifies major inefficiencies in service delivery, with very low technical efficiency scores compared to other low-income countries. Medical staff productivity is particularly low, with staff seeing only six patients per day.
The study concludes that despite relatively high health spending, value-for-money remains poor due to structural issues including inadequate resource allocation, with 90% of the Ministry's operating budget going to personnel costs, leaving insufficient funds for essential drugs and equipment. The report emphasizes the need for better spending patterns and improved efficiency to achieve better care outcomes.