Collaboration success between WV Armenia and WV Thailand

The government expenditures on healthcare as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) remain low in Armenia, about 1.66 per cent of GDP in 2011, while private financing constitutes about 52 per cent of total health expenditures in Armenia—most of which comes directly out of the consumers’ pockets. This pill is hard to swallow, especially for those living in poverty, approximately 34 per cent of the country’s population.

To address the issue, World Vision Armenia through its Child Health Now (CHN) Campaign suggests to public officials the needs to introduce alternative sources of healthcare financing in Armenia.

“By means of alternative financing of healthcare, Armenia will have greater opportunities to promote health and improve the preventive care in the country,” says Naira Gharakhanyan, Child Health Now campaign manager. “This is what the experience of other countries has been proving for years,” she adds. 

Since 2011, the Child Health Now campaign has been studying the international experience and was assessing the feasibility of the application of mechanisms of alternative sources of health financing in Armenia.

In October 2012, World Vision Armenia (in collaboration with World Vision Foundation of Thailand) held a study tour to Thailand for key Armenian government and parliamentary officials to explore the international experience  and see firsthand how this nation has identified and implemented alternative sources of healthcare financing.

A delegation of eight people including: Mr. Gagik Minasyan, head of the Committee on Finance, Credit and Budgetary Issues at the National Assembly; Mr. Arman Melkonyan, advisor to the Minister of Health (MOH); Mr. Sedrak Barseghyan, advisor to the Minister of Finance (MOF), and Mr. Suren Krmoyan, the Chie of Staff at the MOH, visited Bangkok.

Thailand is one of the countries with a rich experience in the area of alternative financing of healthcare. Thailand’s experience and their model of alternative financing of the healthcare can be adapted to the Armenian reality and to help meet the needs of the country.

“Thailand prioritizes public health and puts an emphasis on preventive care,” said Krmoyan. “The state had strong political will to channel tobacco taxes to the healthcare preventive projects, health promotion, and scientific researches.”

“We can learn a lot from that,” he added. “Also it was important to learn the acting mechanisms, the projects and evaluate the effectiveness of those projects.”

Increasing the tobacco taxes and claiming of environmental taxes for health purposes were considered as the most applicable alternative mechanism for health financing in Armenia. The additional income is intended to be directed to the improvement of healthcare in the country. In particular, health projects that are not covered by the state budget, due to the scarcity of financial resources, will be supported.

“We want to instill the idea that every individual in our country bears a responsibility for the healthcare. We want every citizen and entity [to] embrace this idea and help us improve the healthcare infrastructure,” said Krmoyan.

An arduous work, with parliamentary factions and the Government, is still ahead. Because the whole mechanism of alternative financing of healthcare is relatively new for Armenia, World Vision jointly with the Ministry of Health of Armenia and other stakeholders advocates for the further adoption of the alternative financing.

“We lobby for channeling at least the 50 per cent of surcharges from the existing environmental taxes to healthcare projects,” said Krmoyan.

Additionally, the Ministry of Health will lobby to increase tobacco taxes and direct surcharges to the implementation of healthcare projects, prioritizing areas of: preventive care, maternal and child health, primary healthcare, and health promotion in general.

 “I believe, in 2014 we can reach tangible results with regard the tobacco taxes,” said Krmoyan.

“So far, thanks to World Vision, we have had a very good PR campaign directed to the decision makers to inform them about the healthcare issues and the solution the alternative financing of healthcare and innovative healthcare financing models can bring. Some two years ago nobody was even talking about the alternative financing in Armenia,” concluded Krmoyan.