For countries that aspire to achieve the goal of Universal Health Coverage, the question of how to increase funding for health is of fundamental importance; donor funding can be unstable and insurance schemes often exclude marginalised and the poorest populations. Ensuring ‘health for all’ requires substantial increases in funding from domestic sources in a sustainable and equitable manner.

One way of increasing revenue is through improved tax collection and larger total government budgets.

In South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria (Lagos State), researchers have documented country experiences of improving the effectiveness of their tax collection systems and investigated whether this has contributed to more resources for health.

This webinar:

• Describes how governments have managed to increase tax revenue without raising tax rates, comparing approaches across the three country studies.
• Highlights efforts to collect tax from the informal sector in Kenya and Nigeria.
• Discusses the extent to which increased tax revenue has led to additional funding for health.
• Shares policy recommendations about how to make a better case for health during budget negotiations.

The webinar is introduced by Professor Di McIntyre from the Health Economics Unit at the University of Cape Town, followed by a presentation from Dr Jane Doherty, affiliated with the School of Public Health at the University of the Witwatersrand. Dr Jane Doherty presents an overview of the research followed by a Q&A session with Dr Doris Kirigia from the Kemri Wellcome Trust in Kenya.