Overview

This European Observatory analysis of the Belarusian health system reviews the developments in organization and governance, health financing, health care provision, health reforms and health system performance since 2008. Despite considerable change since independence, Belarus retains a commitment to the principle of universal access to health care, provided free at the point of use through predominantly state-owned facilities, organized hierarchically on a territorial basis.

Incremental change, rather than radical reform, has also been the hallmark of health care policy, although capitation funding has been introduced in some areas and there have been consistent efforts to strengthen the role of primary care. Issues of high costs in the hospital sector and of weaknesses in public health demonstrate the necessity of moving forward with the reform programme.

The focus for future reform is on strengthening preventive services and improving the quality and efficiency of specialist services. The key challenges in achieving this involve reducing excess hospital capacity, strengthening health care management, use of evidence-based treatment and diagnostic procedures, and the development of more efficient financing mechanisms. Involving all stakeholders in the development of further reform planning and achieving consensus among them will be key to its success.