On Tuesday 9 June 2020, A. Fuady will defend his PhD dissertation, entitled: ‘Tuberculosis-Related Catastrophic Costs Since the Implementation of Universal Health Coverage in Indonesia’.
Accessing TB-related services is often costly, and can be catastrophic for TB-affected households. In addition to eliminate the incidence of TB, the WHO End TB Strategy also sets a target to reduce to zero percent the percentage of TB-affected households that faced catastrophic costs. In 2014, Indonesia started a national health insurance program (Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional, JKN) to achieve universal health coverage (UHC). In the context of UHC in Indonesia, this thesis aims to provide an evidence-base on the household-level economic impact of TB, the relationship between catastrophic costs and TB treatment outcomes, and the social-protection improvements required to further reduce TB-related catastrophic costs.
Despite the implementation of UHC in Indonesia, TB-affected households still incur high costs to access TB-related services. Mitigating TB-related costs is important since catastrophic costs due to TB – according to our findings – negatively affect TB treatment outcomes and adherence. Also, additional financial support beyond UHC is needed for TB-affected households.
The PhD defences will not take place publicly in the Senate Hall or Professor Andries Queridoroom due to the coronavirus. The candidates will defend their thesis online.