Health systems strengthening (also health system strengthening, abbreviated HSS) is a term used in global health that roughly means to improve the health care system of a country. [1] Within this general definition, it can mean increasing funding for health infrastructure, improving health policy, trying to achieve universal healthcare, [2] or any number of other health measures.
There has been some effort to use a systems thinking approach to health systems strengthening. [3] [4]
Various health organizations have claimed to use health systems strengthening (while not necessarily agreeing on the definition). Some of these are:
Both the idea of health systems strengthening and the term itself have received attention.
Even advocates of health systems strengthening admit that it can often seem like a "distant, even abstract aim". [4]
Marchal et al., writing in 2009, called the term "vague" and argued that "most current HSS strategies are selective (i.e., they target a specific disease), and their effects may undermine progress towards the long-term goal of effective, high-quality, and inclusive health systems." [5] [7]
Peter Berman, who was the lead health economist at the World Bank, has pointed out that "Almost any support to health interventions can be considered HSS". [8]
Extreme poverty is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services". Historically, other definitions have been proposed within the United Nations.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, it has six regional offices and 150 field offices worldwide.
Biosecurity refers to measures aimed at preventing the introduction and/or spread of harmful organisms to animals and plants in order to minimize the risk of transmission of infectious disease. In agriculture, these measures are aimed at protecting food crops and livestock from pests, invasive species, and other organisms not conducive to the welfare of the human population. The term includes biological threats to people, including those from pandemic diseases and bioterrorism. The definition has sometimes been broadened to embrace other concepts, and it is used for different purposes in different contexts.
A health system, health care system or healthcare system is an organization of people, institutions, and resources that delivers health care services to meet the health needs of target populations.
Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed entity realizing or redistributing value". Others have different definitions; a common element in the definitions is a focus on newness, improvement, and spread of ideas or technologies.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 billion, USAID is one of the largest official aid agencies in the world and accounts for more than half of all U.S. foreign assistance—the highest in the world in absolute dollar terms.
Andrew S. Natsios is an American public servant and Republican politician from Massachusetts, who served in a number of positions in the administrations of Governor Paul Cellucci and President of the United States George W. Bush.
Capacity building is the improvement in an individual's or organization's facility "to produce, perform or deploy". The terms capacity building and capacity development have often been used interchangeably, although a publication by OECD-DAC stated in 2006 that capacity development was the preferable term. Since the 1950s, international organizations, governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and communities use the concept of capacity building as part of "social and economic development" in national and subnational plans. The United Nations Development Programme defines itself by "capacity development" in the sense of "'how UNDP works" to fulfill its mission. The UN system applies it in almost every sector, including several of the Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved by 2030. For example, the Sustainable Development Goal 17 advocates for enhanced international support for capacity building in developing countries to support national plans to implement the 2030 Agenda.
MSI Reproductive Choices, named Marie Stopes International until November 2020, is an international non-governmental organisation providing contraception and safe abortion services in 37 countries around the world. MSI Reproductive Choices as an organisation lobbies in favour of access to abortion, and provides a variety of sexual and reproductive healthcare services including advice, vasectomies, and abortions in the UK and other countries where it is legal to do so. It is based in London and is a registered charity under English law.
The Health Metrics Network (HMN) was a global health partnership focused on strengthening health information systems in low and middle income countries, launched in May 2005 during the 58th session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) and dissolved on 31 May 2013. Hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland, the HMN's stated purpose was to make available timely and accurate health information by encouraging joint funding and development of country health information systems, to improve health and save lives.
The United States established diplomatic relations with Malawi in 1964 after Malawi gained independence from the United Kingdom. Malawi's transition from a one-party state to a multi-party democracy significantly strengthened the already cordial U.S. relationship with Malawi. Significant numbers of Malawians study in the United States. The United States has an active Peace Corps program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services, and an Agency for International Development (USAID) mission in Malawi. Both countries have a common history and English language, as they were part of the British Empire.
Cases of HIV/AIDS in Peru are considered to have reached the level of a concentrated epidemic.
MEASURE Evaluation strengthens capacity in developing countries to gather, interpret, and use data to improve health. MEASURE Evaluation creates tools and approaches for rigorous evaluations, providing evidence to address health challenges, and strengthens health information systems so countries can make better decisions and sustain good health outcomes over time. MEASURE Evaluation is a cooperative agreement awarded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and five partner organizations: ICF International, John Snow Inc., Management Sciences for Health, Palladium, and Tulane University. This MEASURE Evaluation partnership provides technical leadership through collaboration at local, national, and global levels to build the sustainable capacity of developing nations to identify data needs, collect and analyze technically sound data, and use that data for health decision-making.
Global Health Initiatives (GHIs) are humanitarian initiatives that raise and disburse additional funds for infectious diseases – such as AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria – for immunizations and for strengthening health systems in developing countries. GHIs classify a type of global initiative, which is defined as an organized effort integrating the involvement of organizations, individuals, and stakeholders around the world to address a global issue.
United States aid to Sudan has three key objectives: a definitive end to conflict, gross human rights abuses, and genocide in Darfur; implementation of the north–south Comprehensive Peace Agreement that results in a peaceful post-2011 Sudan, or an orderly path toward two separate and viable states at peace with each other; and ensuring that Sudan does not provide a safe haven for international terrorist. Sudan has experienced two civil wars since 1955, the second of which lasted 22 years. During this time, the U.S. was the largest provider of foreign aid to Sudan, largely focused on humanitarian aid through the U.S. Agency for International Development. Sudan is listed as the U.S. government's highest priority in Africa due to "its importance for counter-terrorism and regional stability, as well as the magnitude of human rights and humanitarian abuses" U.S. foreign aid to Sudan has begun to see some positive indicators of performance although critical reaction has said that aid to Sudan is neither strategic nor focused.
The Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition (RHSC) is a global partnership of public, private and non-governmental organizations. Its aim is to ensure that all people in low- and middle-income countries can choose, obtain and use the supplies and appropriate services they need to safeguard their reproductive health. Since 2004, the Coalition has been part of international efforts to secure reproductive health supplies by increasing resources, strengthening systems, and building effective partnerships.
GAVI, officially Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public–private global health partnership with the goal of increasing access to immunization in poor countries. In 2016, Gavi channeled more than half of total donor assistance for health, and most donor assistance for immunization, by monetary measure.
The International Decision Support Initiative (iDSI) is a partnership between governments, universities, and thinktanks that helps health policy makers make better decisions. iDSI targets low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), helping them prioritize health interventions as a means toward universal health coverage. iDSI launched in November 2013 as the result of a 2012 Center for Global Development working group.
In global health, priority-setting is a term used for the process and strategy of deciding which health interventions to carry out. Priority-setting can be conducted at the disease level, the overall strategy level, research level, or other levels.
Foreign aid for gender equality in Jordan includes programs funded by governments or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that aim to empower women, close gender based gaps in opportunity and experience, and promote equal access to education, economic empowerment, and political representation in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.