In Africa, the burden of communicable diseases, maternal and child morbidities and mortalities is fast shifting towards chronic non- communicable diseases, giving rise to a phenomenon known as “double burden of illness”. Given that few domestic resources are allocated to health, and externally provided funds are committed to siloed disease programmes, there is an urgent need to develop practical and …
Equality for women – can it help to achieve universal health coverage?
Focusing on universal health coverage and the sustainable development goals, Isabelle Parsons who recently completed work experience with the Global Health and Development Group at Imperial College London, shares her thoughts on the relationship between improving women’s rights and reducing healthcare costs. Maternal health care Universal Healthcare Coverage (UHC) is a basic human right but is something that a great …
iDSI’s vision: everyone should have access to quality healthcare
In our final installment of posts that highlights the new features of the iDSI website, Dr. Ryan Li introduces the Resources section – focusing on the principles for developing clinical quality standards in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs). I remember very vividly two of the hospitals I visited in Vietnam, during my first field trip as a global …
iDSI launches new communication platforms for the global health community
We’re very excited to announce that iDSI has a new and much improved website! We believe that the new site will better serve the global health community: providing access to key resources to support the advancement of healthcare systems and connecting people with our network of health economists and global health experts. You can find our website at the same …
Universal Health Coverage: what can the Republic of Zambia learn from Thailand?
The Government of the Republic of Zambia are working towards providing Universal Health Coverage (UHC) so that everyone has access to quality health care without having to face financial hardship. At present, Zambia provides the population with basic health care services free of charge at the primary health care level. The services that are available are set out in their …
More money is not always the answer to the ills of global health
Increasing the amount of money spent on health isn’t always the answer, especially in the absence of a system that can readily and effectively absorb additional funds. Laura Downey discusses this in the context of India in the following blog. According to an IndiaSpend analysis of 2017 Reserve Bank of India data on state budgets, nine of India’s poorest states …
Ramblings in Rome – a first-timer at HTAi
Each year, HTAi attracts over 1200 participants from 70 different countries. From 19 – 21 June, Rome was awash with scientists, policy makers, journalists: anyone who is involved in the field of HTA. Because of the number and variety people, a huge number of topics came to the stage. Ranging from the latest technologies in the field of surgery, to …
HITAP Announce New International Internship Program
Imagine you are a researcher from a low- or middle-income country who wants to undertake research that would help your country make better decisions about healthcare provision in the nation. However, your country has limited resources. You know that the solution is ‘evidence-informed decision making’ but you also know that you and your colleagues have very limited capacity in this …
Building capacity for undertaking Health Technology Assessment analyses in India
Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is an important tool for prioritizing health resources in India’s journey towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC). This was one of the key take-home messages from the first in a series of workshops designed to build capacity for undertaking HTA analyses in India. Participants from technical institutions across the country travelled to Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala to …
Implementing Quality Standards in hypertension in Kerala
At the request of the Government of Kerala we have entered a technical partnership to improve the detection and management of hypertension in primary care through the implementation of Quality Standards (QS). These quality standards have been derived from evidence-informed Standard Treatment Guidelines (STGs), developed by the STG task force with facilitation from NHSRC (National Health Systems Resource Center), under …