Financing Health Systems In this Category Solving the Health Equation: Improving Public and Private Contributions to Bridge the Gap Between Rich and Poor CountriesSeptember 3, 2006Type/Items(s): Financing Health Systems, Public Private Partnerships A local Indian public health care practitioner administering an oral polio vaccine dosage to a child in an outside setting, in one of the country's many villages. Image courtesy of The Public Health Image Library (PHIL) http://phil.cdc.gov/Phil/, Chris Zahniser. One of the major talking points of this conference is that funds and programmes aimed at those most in need are not reaching their intended target. There is widespread agreement that urgent action is needed to improve access to health for billions of poor people in developing countries. Despite vast investment, largely on the part of governments and international bodies but also by donors and companies seeking to honour a commitment to corporate social responsibility, it is widely acknowledged that precious few inroads are being made. More... Interview with Dr. Frenk, Minister of Health of Mexico"The improvements initiated by Dr. Lee must continue"September 2, 2006Type/Items(s): Track I Access to Health Systems, Track II Health and Inequities, Track V Capacity Building and Partnerships, Financing Health Systems Improvement of health systems and poverty reduction go hand in hand. Image: Viola Krebs, ICVolunteers.org Health reform is badly needed in many countries in the developing world in order to stop the burden of catastrophic healthcare costs remaining on the shoulders of individual families. We talked to Dr. Frenk, Minister of Health for Mexico, where an important healthcare system reform was launched in 2003. The reform implemented, among other things, a 7-year plan to finance "el seguro popular" or popular insurance. More... Interview: Minister Salih Meky, Ministry of Health, EritreaSeptember 2, 2006Type/Items(s): Equity in Access to Health, Track I Access to Health Systems, Track II Health and Inequities, Track V Capacity Building and Partnerships, Financing Health Systems "All of us are in this". Image: Viola Krebs, ICVolunteers.org Mr. Salih Meky, Minister of Health of Eritrea, spoke with us about achievements and challenges in the field of health in his country and Africa more generally. In Eritrea, health care is free of charge. The country has managed to keep under control a number of infectious diseases, but faces the increasing challenge of chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, hypertension and cancer. Hospital costs are a major issue. Minister Meky also questioned whether there was a simple solution to the brain drain, but urged that it needed to be addressed not just by the South, but also by the wealthy countries in the North. More... SY17 - Challenges in Long-Term Drug Delivery (HIV & TB)September 1, 2006Type/Items(s): Tuberculosis, Track III Access to Drugs, Vaccines and Diagnosis, Financing Health Systems, HIV/AIDS "TB control is a marathon, not a sprint!" Image: Viola Krebs, ICVolunteers.org The three speakers of this session all emphasized the increasing negative impact of diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria on economic and social development in the world today. As Mr. Kazatchkine said: "The health sector [...] was originally seen as a non-profitable source of expenditure, is now considered as a factor and a necessary investment for development". Indeed, the benefits of preventing and treating HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria outweigh the costs caused by such diseases. Other topics discussed included sources of funding for treatment and prevention of these diseases, as well as problems in providing efficient health care for victims in the developing world. More... Interview de Monsieur Alexander Schulze (Fondation Novartis, Bâle)Quel est l'intérêt de la Fondation Novartis d'avoir un stand au sein de la conférence Global Health?August 31, 2006Type/Items(s): Financing Health Systems Image: Jorge Garbino, ICVolunteers.org Le "Geneva Forum: Towards Global Access to Health" était également l'occasion pour des exposants de présenter leurs projets au "Marketplace". Ainsi, prés de 50 exposants ont été présents pendant toute la durée du Forum. Parmi eux, des organisations de la société civile, des agences internationales et gouvernementales, ainsi que des fondations privées, dont la Fondation Novartis. Nous avons eu l'occasion de discuter avec M. Alexander Schulze de cette Fondation. More... PL02 - Equity in Access to Health: Dream or Reality?August 31, 2006Type/Items(s): Equity in Access to Health, Track I Access to Health Systems, Financing Health Systems Mr. Didier Pittet from the Geneva University Hospitals. Image: Viola Krebs, ICVolunteers.org Equity in health, which includes equity of access to essential drugs, can only be achieved through reformation of the health sector. This long-term goal can only be achieved by scaling up financing of health systems and changing government policies in developing countries. More... SY06 - Financing Health Systems Pro PoorHealth insurance: is it globally relevant?August 31, 2006Type/Items(s): Track I Access to Health Systems, Financing Health SystemsFinancing of health systems is well known for raising controversial ideas and provoking stormy debate. This session put the accent on whether a prepayment system should be applied to deficient health systems in under-developed countries. Different judgements on the global relevance of insurance were presented. More... SY08 - Access to Vaccines: Obstacles and SolutionsAugust 31, 2006Type/Items(s): Tuberculosis, Equity in Access to Health, Track III Access to Drugs, Vaccines and Diagnosis, Financing Health SystemsMore than 2,600,000 deaths have been prevented in 2003 thanks to the Hepatitis B vaccine currently available. This is only one impressive example of the benefits of good vaccination and immunisation programmes. Although vaccination programmes are very cost-efficient, costing as less than 1,000 USD per life saved, the world still faces over 100,000 neonatal tetanus deaths and over 400,000 deaths from measles per year. The international community has a very ambitious plan: to completely eradicate diseases which are preventable by global vaccine coverage. How can such a goal be accomplished? More... SY04 - Access to Health: a Global Problem in Need of a Global SolutionAugust 30, 2006Type/Items(s): Equity in Access to Health, Track IV Civil Society and Social Issues in Health, Financing Health Systems, Civil Society IssuesTo achieve global access to health care requires the participation of a range of actors including patients, well-organized NGOs and governments that are held accountable. This specific symposium covered a range of issues that are critical to providing access to health for all, including civil and social issues and the role, vision and improvements provided by the People's Health Movement (PHM) and the Global Health Watch (GHW). More... |  |
