This paper presents a bibliometric analysis of the literature on private health aid and official health assistance between 2000 and 2022. It provides an overview of the sites and themes in the literature pertaining to development assistance in health, and collates the significant policy recommendati...ons presented therein. Several crucial findings emerge from the bibliometric analysis: 44.2 percent of the 489 papers/articles assessed focused on lower-middle-income countries, while 37.7 percent focused on low-income countries. However, authors affiliated with institutes and organisations from lower-middle- and low-income countries contributed merely 15.5 percent and 11.8 percent, respectively, of the papers assessed. Most (72.7 percent) were written by authors from highmiddle-
and high-income countries. Additionally, despite non-governmental
organisations, philanthropies, and private businesses constituting about 20 percent of development assistance donors, a mere 4 percent of all papers focused on these entities.
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In the last three decades, health financialization has surged in
several creative ways, yet this growing phenomenon remains surprisingly
unknown, and neglected, in the global health arena. Financialization in the
health domain could be described as the uncontrolled expansion of finance along vari...ous lines of healthcare provision. Health has been intentionally transformed into a commodity as private for-profit actors have been allowed freedom to operate - and ultimately play with people’s fundamental right to health - for their vested financial interests, nationally and internationally. Health financialization is thrivingly pursued today for example through the institutionalization of medical knowledge monopolies, the expansion of markets and of financial techniques applied to healthcare insurance schemes, the soaring digitalization of global health interventions and the booming data industry.
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Rising levels of inflation, debt and macrofiscal tightening are putting expenditures on the social sectors including health under immense scrutiny. Already, there are worrying signs of reductions in social sector investments. However, even before the pandemic, evidence showed the significant returns... on investments in health equity and its social determinants. Emerging data and trends show that these potential returns have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic - investments in social determinants can mitigate widespread reductions in human capital and the increasing likelihood of costly syndemics, while promoting access to healthcare innovations that have thus far been inequitably distributed. Therefore, we argue that, despite immediate fiscal pressures, this is exactly the time to invest in health equity and its broader social determinants, as the returns on such investments have never been greater.
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Zambia is facing a severe economic crisis marked by high inflation, increasing poverty and a heavy debt burden that is straining both its fiscal stability and progress in health outcomes. By 2020, the country's external debt reached United States dollars (USD) 12.7 billion, representing 108% of the ...country's gross domestic product (GDP). In 2020, Zambia sought assistance through the G20 Common Framework and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Extended Credit Facility (ECF), securing a USD 1.7 billion loan over 5 years. IMF loans, however, come with austerity measures that prioritise fiscal discipline but could potentially exacerbate social inequalities. These measures, which include increasing consumer taxes on goods and services (value added taxes - VATs), electricity tariffs and fuel prices, disproportionately impact vulnerable populations, raising concerns about their long-term effects on essential services, especially accessible and good quality healthcare services.
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This comprehensive HPFM report thoroughly explores Kenya’s health financing landscape. It provides an in-depth analysis of the current state of affairs and sheds light on required strategic changes in health financing. The report points out the need to improve public financial management within th...e health sector, for more efficient financial systems. It focuses on better resourceraising and utilization mechanisms. The matrix highlights the need for consolidation of fragmented health financing arrangements, for a more efficient health system. It also emphasizes the need for enhancing strategic purchasing of health services, to improve the overall efficiency and quality of care. Additionally, the report stresses the critical
role of leveraging data and information systems for more evidence-based informed decision-making. These recommendations are crucial for advancing Kenya’s health financing system and moving closer to the UHC goal.
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There has never been a more critical moment to invest in WHO, and strengthen the unique role it plays in global health. Now is the time to sustainably finance WHO and invest in a healthy return for all.
Frequent efforts to revise the official development assistance (ODA) accounting rules have raised important questions about the integrity and relevance of what currently “counts” as ODA spending. In this note, we outline a brief history of the evolution of the ODA accounting rules to date, highl...ighting how—and why—the ODA concept has changed since it emerged in 1969. Doing so provides a starting point for considering whether the current concept of ODA remains “fit for purpose” and whether, or how, the concept could reform to better meet current needs.
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The Plan of Action for Malaria Elimination 2021-2025 has been developed in consultation with countries and regional partners as a framework of reference to guide the efforts of countries and the contributions of donors and partners towards elimination of the disease in the Americas. The Plan subscri...bes to the goals and pillars of the WHO Global Technical Strategy against Malaria 2016-2030 (GTS), while presenting key elements to address the specific challenges of the Region. The document seeks to guide national plans and promote an inter-programmatic- intersectoral approach, and joint efforts between countries and partners. The Plan is also the reference framework for PAHO technical cooperation in malaria in the period 2021-2025. The goals to be achieved require changes in action against malaria that must occur at the operations level and for which regulatory and policy adjustments are required from the national levels. Thus, the Plan promotes a systematic action of detection, diagnosis and response, which must be massively implemented and monitored programmatically. A main element of change is action aimed at recognizing the need to address key malaria foci in each country with specific, information-based operational solutions. The Plan of Action seeks to promote these changes in malaria programs in the countries and through the interactions among all actors. The model proposed in this plan is based on a cross-functional dialogue and interconnections across the lines of action (SL). Strategic lines 1, 2 and 3, which correspond to the three pillars of the WHO/GTS, complement each other, and are not designed to function independently. The idea of the consolidated supportive elements - strengthened health systems, strategic planning, financing, partnerships, advocacy, and operational research (SL 4) is to provide the platform, operational structures and alliances for the more specific malaria interventions presented in strategic lines 1, 2 and 3.
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The Malaria Ministerial Conference, co-hosted by WHO and the Government of Cameroon on 6 March 2024, brought together more than 400 stakeholders, including Ministers of Health and senior representatives from the African countries hardest hit by malaria, global health leaders, scientists, civil socie...ty and other partners. The pivotal meeting sought to leverage political commitment, scientific innovation and community engagement to reshape the trajectory of malaria control in high burden African countries, and beyond.
At the end of the meeting and in the weeks that followed, Ministers of Health from the 11 “High Burden High Impact” African countries (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania) signed the Yaoundé Declaration, pledging their “unwavering commitment” to the principle that “no one should die from malaria given the tools and systems available.” Success in reducing malaria morbidity and mortality will hinge on efforts by countries to translate this political commitment into actions and resources that will save lives.
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This purpose of this guide is to inform robust evaluations of the WHO training package – a package aimed at personnel whose primary role in health-care facilities is environmental cleaning, hereafter referred to as cleaners.
The WHO training package – Environmental cleaning and infection prev...ention and control in health-care facilities in low- and middle-income countries – was designed to improve the competencies of cleaners through a practical, educational approach for adult learners in low- and middle-income countries and comprises two volumes: trainer’s guide and modules and resources (1,2). An associated OpenWHO online course describes the essential preparations for trainers to deliver the WHO training package.
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Les tendances démographiques d’aujourd’hui façonneront la répartition des populations de demain. Il en va de même pour le carbone que nous rejetons dans l’atmosphère aujourd’hui, qui déterminera le climat de demain ou pour les technologies que nous développons et gouvernons, qui influ...enceront non seulement la manière dont les futures générations apprendront, travailleront et communiqueront, mais aussi le bien-être des enfants au cours des années à venir.
Alors que le premier quart du XXIe siècle touche à sa fin, le rapport La Situation des enfants dans le monde 2024 nous projette en 2050 et tente de répondre à la question suivante : Quelle est la meilleure voie à suivre pour assurer un avenir dans lequel chaque enfant jouit de ses droits, et bâtir un monde dans lequel tous les enfants survivent, s’épanouissent et réalisent leur plein potentiel?
Pour ce faire, ce rapport examine trois grandes tendances, à savoir trois forces puissantes qui s’inscrivent dans la durée à l’échelle mondiale et qui auront de profondes répercussions sur la vie des enfants entre aujourd’hui et 2050 : les changements démographiques, la crise climatique et environnementale et les technologies d’avant-garde. Comprendre ces tendances et leurs implications pour les enfants semble en effet essentiel pour mieux appréhender les défis et les possibilités qui
nous attendent
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ستشكل الاتجاهات الديموغرافية اليوم أنماط السكان في المستقبل. وسيحدد الكربون الذي نسكبه اليوم بغزارة في الغلاف الجوي معالم مناخ الغد. وستؤثر التقانات التي نطورها ون...تحكم بها اليوم على طرق تعلم الأجيال المقبلة وعملها وتواصلها وأيضاً على عافية الأطفال لسنوات طويلة.
مع اقترابنا من نهاية الربع الأول من القرن الحادي والعشرين، يتطلع تقرير حالة أطفال العالم لعام 2024 إلى عام 2050. ويسأل: كيف يمكننا تأمين مستقبل تتحقق فيه حقوق جميع الأطفال — عالم يحيا فيه جميع الأطفال ويزدهرون ويحققون إمكاناتهم بالكامل؟
يتناول هذا التقرير ثلاث قوى عالمية قوية وطويلة الأمد (أو اتجاهات كبرى) ستترك أثراً عميقاً على حياة الأطفال من الآن حتى عام 2050، وهي: التحولات الديموغرافية، وأزمات المناخ والبيئة، والتقانات الرائدة. وبفهم هذه الاتجاهات وتداعياتها على الأطفال، يمكننا أن ندرك بشكل أفضل التحديات والفرص التي تنتظرنا.
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Las tendencias demográficas actuales determinarán las futuras características de la población. El carbono expulsado hoy a la atmósfera definirá el clima del mañana. Las tecnologías que hoy desarrollamos y controlamos no solo influirán en la forma de aprender, trabajar y comunicar de las fut...uras generaciones, sino también en el bienestar de la infancia durante las próximas décadas.
Conforme el primer cuarto del siglo XXI llega a su fin, el Estado Mundial de la Infancia 2024 ha decidido mirar hacia adelante y situarse en el año 2050. Y plantea la siguiente pregunta: ¿cuál es la mejor manera de lograr un futuro donde todos los niños y niñas disfruten de sus derechos? ¿Cómo podemos construir un mundo donde todos puedan sobrevivir, prosperar y desarrollar plenamente su potencial?
El informe examina tres megatendencias o grandes fenómenos mundiales y a largo plazo que tendrán importantes efectos sobre las vidas de los niños y niñas de aquí a 2050: los cambios demográficos, las crisis climáticas y medioambientales y las tecnologías de vanguardia. Si entendemos estas tendenciasy lo que implican para la infancia, comprenderemos mejor los retos y las oportunidades que se nos pueden presentar.
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