Strengthening institutional and organizational capacity for social health protection of the informal sector in lesser-developed countries: A study of policy barriers and opportunities in Cambodia

► Universal coverage of the informal sector in Cambodia and other developing countries is constrained by fragmentation. ► The structure, third-party status and institutional capacity for a uniform national SHP agency are the key challenges. ► Lessons learned: expand the fiscal space for health, first protect the poor, and work according to the national context. ► Research in Cambodia in 2011-12 showed extensive coverage of the poor created the foundation for a national SHP agency.