Financial risk protection is determined by how funds are raised, and whether and how they are pooled to spread the risk across population groups. Direct user-charges, for example, are regressive, i.e. the rich pay the same fees as the poor, which deters some people from seeking or continuing care. The funds also do not provide financial risk protection, in that people pay when they are sick and do not pay when they are healthy. As a result of this lack of solidarity, some people incur financial hardships and may even be pushed below the poverty line. A f inancing policy must grapple with the question of how to raise funds equitably, which usually implies a degree of progressivity (where the rich contribute a higher proportion of their income than the poor). It also needs to consider how to ensure access to needed services while protecting people against the more severe financial consequences of paying for care. These goals cannot be achieved without some form of prepayment and the subsequent pooling of the collected revenues, i.e. people pay into a pool when they are healthy and can draw on these funds when they are sick. Pooled funds can be derived from tax or health insurance contributions and in most countries they come from a mix of sources. Indicators in this area need to capture the extent to which people are protected from the financial risks associated with ill health. It would also be valuable to measure the extent of progressivity in the way that prepaid funds for health (e.g. taxes and insurance premiums) are raised.