Course: Health Systems Strengthening

Health staff with management roles at district level can often find themselves burdened with expectations to meet targets set at national level, but without the autonomy or resources to mount …

A feature of complex systems is that interventions frequently produce unexpected or unpredictable outcomes. To what extent do you think the behaviour of health staff at county level in this …

Just as constructing a building or a machine depends on the design and plans, so too the operation of the health system depends on the policies and plans that guide …

In this video a recent review of priority-setting processes in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) was recommended (Hipgrave et al. 2014) – the paper is provided in the reference list below …

The different roles and functions of each level of the health system require expertise when intervening at that level. The presenters in this discussion imply that successful health systems strengthening …

How has the seven-step approach to an equity-focused health system analysis informed policy development? Uganda has recently used this approach to develop an Investment Case for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child …

What do you see as the strengths of this approach? What might be its weaknesses? Please comment below.

What tools do we have to guide an equity-focused approach to health systems strengthening? We briefly mentioned these at the start. Remember when we defined the concept of equity within …

The World Health Organization (2006), defines Universal Health Coverage (UHC) as when “all people and communities can use the promotive, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative health services they need, of …

What approaches have different health systems taken to address equity? The report An Asia Pacific Spotlight on Health Inequities (Friel & Loring, 2011) provides a good overview of what countries …

Global frameworks and strategies discussed in the video now influence many interventions to address health inequities. Can you think of a public health initiative in your community/region which aimed to …

“We are not allowed to get sick anymore because we have to pay for medication… what with?” An older man, Zenica, Bosnia and Hercegovina (excerpt from Narayan et al., 2000, …

We know that a conscious effort is needed to address inequities to see further progress in health outcomes. A recognised shortcoming of the Millennium Development Goals was the failure to …

Think about your own country or a country you are familiar with. Do you know whether the financing of the health sector is progressive, regressive or proportional? What about health …

Equity is all about fairness. As we begin to look at the question of equity in health systems, it is important to remind ourselves that not all societies, and not …