Like many other African countries, Ghana has been implementing a cost-sharing policy in its health sector since the 1990s. The adoption of this policy and the consequent charging of user fees for health services was due to stagnating economies and associated budgetary constraints and increasing gaps between supply and demand for basic social services that have been characteristic of African cou...

Background In 2009, the Benin government introduced a user fee exemption policy for caesarean sections. We analyse this policy with regard to how the existing ideas and institutions related to user fees influenced key steps of the policy cycle and draw lessons that could inform the policy dialogue for universal health coverage in the West African region. Methods Following the policy stages mo...