International Decision Support Initiative awarded US$12.8m grant from the Gates Foundation

Jan. 30, 2016

In January 2016, the international Decision Support Initiative (iDSI, www.idsihealth.org) launches Phase 2 with an award of US$12.8 million (£8.9 million) from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This represents a major single investment by the Foundation dedicated to making better decisions for better health, and a significant commitment by the Foundation and iDSI partners worldwide to enacting the Bangkok Statement …

Combination of Policy Process and Technical Evidence: Setting Priority on Health Screening in Thailand

Karlena Luz Jan. 25, 2016

  More and more, private health care is promoting health checkups. The more tests the consumer takes the higher the costs are incurred. Nevertheless, expensive tests cannot guarantee better health outcomes. Evidence even suggests that some tests such as prosthetic-specific antigen tests have definite harms that outweigh the benefits due to over diagnosis and over treatment. Meanwhile, some countries allocate …

Supporting India’s efforts towards Universal Health Coverage

By Françoise Cluzeau Jan. 14, 2016

NICE International has been providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) at central and state level since 2009. Through the International Decision Support Initiative (iDSI) it is active in three areas: 1.  Health Technology Assessment Under the terms of the partnership MoU between NICE and the MoHFW Department of Health Research (DHR), and linking to the …

Workshop to develop quality standards for antimicrobial resistance in Hanoi

By Françoise Cluzeau Jan. 6, 2016

In December 2015 Dr Francoise Cluzeau, NICE International travelled to Hanoi for the second in a series of workshops for the UK/Vietnam Partner Driven Collaboration entitled “Towards an evidence based National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Vietnam”. This collaboration aims to create an evidence informed methodology and governed working processes to develop and implement policies and guidelines for controlling AMR in Vietnam. It …

Towards an evidence-based National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance in Vietnam

By Françoise Cluzeau , Ashok Manandhar Nov. 25, 2015

Since August 2015, NICE International, an iDSI core partner, has been involved in a two-year collaboration to develop the existing National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Vietnam, funded by the Newton Fund. This project brings together the Vietnamese Ministry of Health, National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, and the Health Strategy and Policy Institute (HSPI) with the Oxford University …

NICE International acknowledged in joint statement from British and Indian Prime Ministers

Nov. 18, 2015

On 12 November 2015, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British Prime Minister David Cameron acknowledged the valuable work of one of iDSI’s partners, NICE International in a joint statement. The following except from the statement relates to NICE International’s collaboration with the Indian council for medical research (ICMR), and the Department of Health Research, India, as part of …

Indian STGs nearing completion and preparations underway for pilot implementation at State level

Nov. 13, 2015

November 2015 Dr Francoise Cluzeau and Dr Laura Downey travelled to Delhi, India for meetings with colleagues at a number of allied institutions, including the WHO India office, the World Bank and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Important meetings were also held at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) with the joint secretary for health, and with …

NICE International continuing its engagement work in Sub-Saharan Africa

Nov. 2, 2015

November 2015 NICE International supported Dr Miqdad Asaria, Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Economics, University of York to travel to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 21-27 November 2015. Dr Asaria conducted a series of meetings with colleagues in Ethiopia, including from the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI), Overseas Development Institute, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, and other senior academics. …

HTA meetings at the World Health Organisation

November 2015  Kalipso Chalkidou represented NICE International at a WHO-convened meeting on Health Technology Assessment at the Geneva HQ of WHO.  Representatives from across WHO and institutions from high and low and middle income countries from around the world discussed progress towards the World Health Assembly Resolution on Health Intervention and Technology Assessment (HITA) and plans for enhancing the role …

iDSI Economist Intelligence Unit report: Driving value in healthcare spending in low- and middle-income countries

Oct. 15, 2015

Of the US$7.1trn spent annually on healthcare globally in 2014, less than 1% (US$35.9bn) is Development Assistance for Health (DAH). This funding remains crucial for low- and middle-income countries to address their challenges. Before the financial crisis of 2008, development aid had been on an upward trend as steps to address the Millennium Development Goals advanced. However, funding levels have …