Learning from the Cuban experience in medical education April 2017 Members of a collaborative Cuba-UK-South Africa project exploring the value of Cuban-training for South African medical students met this year to discuss how the programme can promote Universal Health Coverage (UHC). The ‘South Africa-Cuba doctors programme’, which offers bursaries to South Africans from disadvantaged backgrounds to study medicine in Cuba …
In health spending, middle-income countries face a priorities ditch, not a financing ditch – but that still merits aid
After a successful replenishment earlier this year, the board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is thinking through how to maximize the impact of the money it has raised. One hot issue is graduation from Gavi support. Currently, the Alliance uses an income cutoff loosely based on eligibility for IDA — soft loans from the World Bank. Other aid agencies, including the Global Fund …
NICE International mapping priority-setting activities in Malawi
Laura Morris travelled to Malawi as part of initial iDSI activities in Sub-Saharan Africa. The purpose of the trip was to learn about current priority-setting activities in Malawi and identify any gaps, through meetings with representatives from the Ministry of Health and their major technical partners. This follows earlier communication as part of a mapping exercise conducted by iDSI in …
HTAsiaLink 7th newsletter features iDSI
The Jul-Dec 2015 edition of the the Reference Case for Economic Evaluation, as well a special interview with Prof Tony Culyer on the role of universities in capacity building for HTA. Read the HTAsiaLink newsletter
179 LMICs, 1 iDSI: Where do we start? Setting priorities in international development
Priority-setting is important for all countries, regardless of level of economic development, if the goal is to achieve and sustain universal health coverage (UHC). One year ago in Geneva, the World Health Assembly endorsed a resolution on Health Intervention and Technology Assessment (HITA), calling on member countries to support each other in strengthening institutional and technical capacity for priority-setting. The …
Mapping of priority-setting in health in 17 low and middle income countries across Asia, Latin America, and Africa
A new OHE occasional paper has just been published, written in collaboration with NICE International. The document aims to assess the characteristics of a sample of low and middle income countries (LMICs), in order to select a shortlist of countries in which an iDSI practical support project could have the maximum likelihood of success and possible impact. The practical support project …
Vietnam delegation visits to NICE
Vietnamese Ministry visit NICE July 2014 NICE International was pleased to host a delegation from the Vietnamese central and provincial governments as part of the EU-funded Health Sector Capacity Support Project. The delegation consisted of members of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning and Investment, and representatives from the health services departments in the Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, and …
NICE International at the high level Groundwork meeting in Hanoi
The Groundwork project, led my Meteos, has taken place over the past 12 months with the aim of discussing and working through some of the challenges (technical and political) of setting up and running processes for evidence-informed decision-making in health systems within low- and middle-income countries. The group has met twice bringing together participants including; senior individuals and advisors from Colombia, …
HTA Development in Vietnam
Health Benefits package in Vietnam April 2015 NICE International coordinated two events in Hanoi on health benefits package design in partnership with the Health Strategy and Policy Institute and the Vietnamese Health Economics Association. A health benefits package is the range of technologies and services that are available at a free or subsidised rate to the insured population, and the …
NICE International visits Geneva
April 2015 NICE International visited Geneva to meet with senior colleagues from UNITAID, the Global Fund and GAVI. During the meetings, we discussed the importance of demonstrating value for money of investment at both the central and national levels, especially as an increasing number of countries are transitioning to a less donor-dependent status. A growing number of countries are requesting …