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.

LHSS conducted a study of 37 countries to provide a better understanding of the strengths, opportunities, and gaps in the structures governing the provision of quality health services.

This report details case studies from Rwanda and Zambia which offer unique insights into the operationalization of National Quality Policies and Strategy (NQPS) within broader governance and quality of care reforms.

LHSS along with speakers from USAID and WHO reflected on strategies to ensure reliable funding for costing the planning, design, implementation, and evaluation of a National Quality Policy and Strategy (NQPS).

This brief builds on the USAID Local Health System Sustainability Project (LHSS) Strengthening Governance report (2022) and global National Quality Policy and Strategy (NQPS) survey, aiming to provide practical examples and considerations for country practitioners to consider on their quality journeys. It includes case studies of three countries that have used NQPS to mobilize and align resources for quality.

An estimated 170,000 people contract TB each year in Vietnam. The new e-LMIS system helps ensure a reliable drug supply for those who need treatment.

This learning brief can be used as a resource for HRH managers, planners, program managers, and frontline practitioners to learn how other countries are approaching and successfully designing and implementing solutions to their HRH challenges. It can also be used as a reference for health policy makers, funders, and implementing partners to inform the design and implementation of HRH resource optimization initiatives covered in this brief.

This Catalog allows practitioners to consider which interventions have more robust evidence bases to support their practical application, such as: enhancing worker and supervisor competencies through training, offering nonfinancial incentives for high performers, practicing task sharing to promote cost savings, implementing digital solutions to expand access to services, and reducing costs of procuring and distributing pharmaceutical products.

This Question-and-Answer (Q&A) document covers commonly asked questions and answers on TB exams, treatment, and reimbursement through Social Health Insurance (SHI). It provides guidance to TB treatment facilities as they integrate SHI and transition TB treatment services into SHI. The document also includes hyperlinks as additional reference sources for readers.

The Vietnam government transitions funding of TB treatment to the SHI fund with support from LHSS. This transition marks a critical milestone, ensuring uninterrupted access to life-saving treatment.

Vietnam is one of the 30 countries with the highest burden of TB and drug-resistant TB in the world, with more than 172,000 cases and 10,400 deaths from TB in Vietnam in 2020 (WHO).  On July 1, TB treatment facilities nationwide started providing TB drugs to patients through social health insurance, marking an important milestone for financial sustainability.

This rapid assessment aimed to determine which health facilities in seven high-TB burden provinces of Vietnam meet social health insurance (SHI) requirements for TB service provision and for reimbursement of TB services through the SHI scheme.

Lhss prepared this report, discussing procurement and payment considerations related to the transition of first-line tuberculosis (TB) drug procurement in Vietnam from the central state budget to the social health insurance fund starting in 2022.

This document provides a roadmap for Vietnam’s National Tuberculosis (TB) Program to transition procurement and payment for TB drugs to the country’s social health insurance scheme.

For the first time, Vietnam has procured TB medicines using its national social health insurance scheme.