Achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC), which means guaranteeing access to healthcare for all, as well as protection against financial risks, is one of the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3.8). Progress towards UHC is an essentially political process, because it involves a redistribution of resources and power relations between the various players. This process is influenced by interests, ideas and ideologies. What’s more, it is gradual and context-specific.
Political economy analysis (PEA) brings together the economics of reform and the politics of change, examining how power and resources are (re)distributed and how interests, motivations and institutions promote or hinder change. Because of the political nature of CSU processes, AEP is considered particularly relevant for analyzing them. Recently, a number of studies have been carried out on the political economy of CSU. However, most studies remain theoretical or focus on contexts where reforms have been successful, as in Rwanda, or partially successful, as in Ethiopia. 
A recent review of the literature highlights the growing importance of PEA in the literature, but also reveals that analyses often remain partial. Gaps remain in the analysis, particularly in low-income countries and especially those where progress towards UHC remains difficult. While the role of external actors (e.g. international donors and partners) is generally well analyzed, the influence of other internal actors and their specific interests is not yet well detailed in the literature. Moreover, there is a lack of theoretical and practical frameworks to guide the analysis in a systematic way. To our knowledge, there are no PEAs on CSU focusing on Burkina Faso.
To this end, Research for Health and Development (RESADE), in collaboration with Queen Margaret University (UK), has conducted a study to analyze the place and challenges of using political economy analysis in Universal Health Coverage (UHC) policies and practices, as well as stakeholders’ views on research priorities in the field of political economy analysis for UHC in Burkina Faso.
The results of this study were presented to the various CSU stakeholders in Burkina Faso on Tuesday March 30, 2021. The workshop, which brought together some twenty participants, also served as a basis for stakeholder engagement and joint identification of research needs and priorities in political economy analysis for the CSU in Burkina Faso.
