JSI Research and Training Institute Inc, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Int J Health Plann Manage. 2020 Jul;35(4):813-817. doi: 10.1002/hpm.2986. Epub 2020 May 31.
Most developing countries with weak economies and low GDPs strive to invest an optimal amount of budget to health sector. Compounding on this state of affairs is their inherent inefficiency to spend even that meager amount on the welfare of the patients, improving service delivery, motivating their workforce and making their health systems responsive to the needs of the people they serve. With weak fiscal base and inelasticity in budget spending, when these countries face a catastrophe like COVID-19, there is a whole situation of havoc and lack of finances emerges as the biggest issue in such crises. Pakistan has been no exception to this kind of situation. Government funds allocated to other public sector development schemes are diverted to deal with the health emergency. Hence, the result is an overall socioeconomic shock that a country has to face. Amid such crises, other international commitments also face a state of uncertainty. With the changing disease patterns all over the world, the public financial management system for health sector needs to be revisited to devise a more sustainable and resilient mechanism not only to absorb shocks like COVID-19 but also to meet the international health commitments.
大多数经济实力较弱、国内生产总值较低的发展中国家都努力在卫生部门投入最佳预算。更糟糕的是，即便将微薄的资金用于患者福利、改善服务提供、激励员工队伍以及使卫生系统能够满足所服务人群的需求，这些国家也缺乏效率。由于财政基础薄弱，预算支出缺乏弹性，当这些国家面临 COVID-19 等灾难时，就会出现全面的混乱和资金短缺，这成为此类危机中的最大问题。巴基斯坦也未能幸免。原本分配给其他公共部门发展计划的政府资金被转移用于应对卫生紧急情况。因此，国家不得不面对整体社会经济冲击。在这种危机中，其他国际承诺也面临着不确定的局面。随着世界各地疾病模式的变化，需要重新审视卫生部门的公共财政管理系统，以制定更具可持续性和弹性的机制，不仅能够吸收 COVID-19 等冲击，还能够履行国际卫生承诺。
