Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Accept all cookies Reject all non-essential cookies Find out more

COVID-19-related catastrophic health expenditure and multidimensional poverty in Ghana: further discussions 20 years after implementing a social health insurance policy

Senior Lecturer and Head of Graduate Studies, Dr. Martin Ayanore, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ghana

Thursday, 30 May 2024, 2pm to 3pm

Hosted by The Health Economics Research Centre (HERC)

Date and time:  Thursday 30 May 2024, 14:00 hours (2.00 pm UK BST)

Location: L1 Main Meeting Room, Richard Doll Building, Old Road Campus, Headington, OX3 7LF

To Join: This is a free event, which will be taking place both in-person and online via Zoom/Microsoft Teams. Register

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected the welfare of households in Ghana. Despite this, evidence on the catastrophic effect of the pandemic on the expenditure of households remains limited post the pandemic. This study examined catastrophic health expenditure (CHEs) payments during the COVID-19 pandemic among Ghanaian households and examines what drives the payments. The data for catastrophic payment incidence (Hcat) reveals that on average, 52.2% of households spent 5% of their total household expenditures on COVID-19-related health expenditures, showing that more than half of our sample experienced catastrophic payments. Our empirical results show that multidimensional poverty exacerbated catastrophic payments during the pandemic. Our analysis shows multidimensionally poor households experienced a higher burden of catastrophic healthcare payments. We found insurance, remittances, and government assistance to mitigate the effects of CHE shock during the pandemic. Data 20 years after social health insurance reveal a positive effect of insurance on CHEs cumulatively.

Bio: Dr. Martin Ayanore is a Senior Lecturer and Head of Graduate Studies, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ghana. He holds a PhD in Health Economics from Maastricht University. He has held several research visits abroad in the past: visiting professor to Queen's University, Canada, a two-time John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Fall Fellow, and a visiting research scientist to the Royal College of Physician of Ireland, Dublin among others. Martin is visiting Oxford as a recipient of the 2023 AfOx Catalyst Grant awardee. He is working with Prof. Philip Clarke on a joint project to determine better measures for evaluating inequality and inequities in sub-Saharan Africa.

Forthcoming External Talks

OxTalks (Oxford Population Health)