With increased migration around the world posing unique challenges and opportunities for health systems, efforts to better integrate and include migrants and host communities in national health systems are an integral part of the global health equity agenda. 

The World Bank, USAID and the Global Financing Facility (GFF), will host the 7th Annual Health Financing Forum (AHFF7) on April 15 to 17, 2024, on the sidelines of the 2024 World Bank/IMF spring meetings.

This brief introduces the social determinants of health (SDOH) concept and terminology, and discusses approaches to addressing SDOH. Understanding these root causes of health inequities and their impact on health care access, quality, and equity is crucial to strengthening health systems.

The 8th Global Symposium on Health Systems Research (HSR 2024) will be held in Nagasaki, Japan, from November 18 to 22, 2024.

Two years ago, as it struggled to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus and get people vaccinated, the Government of Jamaica turned to private health care providers for help. The results went well beyond its expectations.

This two-pager focuses on USAID’s Learning Question 5, “What are effective and sustainable mechanisms or processes that enable the participation of private sector, civil society, and public organizations in developing locally-led solutions to improve high-performing health care, especially for poor and vulnerable populations? What enables the effective participation or leadership of marginalized populations themselves in the development and implementation of these solutions? Under what conditions is this participation different?”

This technical guidance document provides a summary of principal findings that highlight those complex factors including a literature review, surveys, resource mapping, case studies including key informant interviews, and the development of a theory of change.

The case study in Senegal focused on practical experiences and lessons learned when expanding financial protection to socially excluded and vulnerable groups.

The case study shows the literature and previous work on health equity to identify promising approaches and strategies from Senegal’s experience to ensure more equitable financial protection, particularly for underserved and socially excluded populations.

This communications strategy outlines how the LHSS team will support the private sector providers in implementing their communication plans.

The LHSS Jamaica Grants Strategy guides implementation of the grants-under-contract component of the LHSS Jamaica activity, with the goal of increasing the capacity of local organizations to prepare, obtain, and manage successful health systems strengthening projects and activities.  

LHSS conducted this rapid assessment to better understand the current and potential role of the private health sector in Jamaica's COVID-19 response.

Since vaccines became available in 2021, only 26 percent of Jamaicans have been vaccinated – a far cry from the country’s goal of 65 percent by March 2022. Religious communities were among the victims of the misinformation causing vaccine hesitancy, with many of the country’s Christians believing the vaccines represented “the mark of the beast.” In response, the government called on church leaders to play a more prominent role in the country’s vaccination effort.

Through an LHSS-Joint Learning Network learning exchange, health practitioners from seven countries are sharing successful experiences and promising practices to institutionalize explicit national priority-setting processes for health. The goal? To help countries set equitable national health priorities and ensure that these priorities are reflected in national health plans and budgets.