LHSS provides technical assistance to the Dominican Republic, and this five-year roadmap outlines a strategic vision, objectives, and initiatives for reaching the final milestone of expanded insurance and standardized health service packages for migrant women residing in or transiting through the Dominican Republic.

LHSS activity in the Dominican Republic during its first year of implementation and detailed steps to pilot initiatives that aim to improve SHP for migrants (including women) in the Dominican Republic

This landscape analysis report on Social Health Protection for Women in High-Migration Contexts provides LHSS-LAC, USAID, national governments, regional stakeholders, and other development partners with an inventory of country experiences and strategies for improving access to social health protection (SHP) for women migrants and women at risk of migration.

Late last year, health sector practitioners from eight countries met to tackle the issue head-on as participants in the Joint Learning Network Health Budget Execution Learning Exchange. They made meaningful progress.

By now, much has been written about the egregious global inequities in COVID-19 vaccine distribution. But less has been said about another inequity that holds serious implications for global health: the disparities in genomic sequencing capacities and capabilities worldwide.

She’s a big thinker, with an illustrious background. Midori de Habich was Peru’s minister of health and chair of the South American Council of Health from 2012-2014. She has served on various WHO working groups and missions and led USAID-funded projects in Peru. Now, she is applying her expertise in financial protection and population coverage to LHSS as the project’s technical director.

A review of health financing work in Namibia by the Health Finance and Governance Project.

An analysis of Namibia health financing reform by the Economic Association of Namibia.

This strategy document lays out how the LHSS Project will support country partners in moving towards greater gender sensitivity, responsiveness, and ultimately transformation in their health systems.

It is easy to fall back on the habit of using catchall terms like “vulnerable groups” to refer to many different people, but relying on these terms can have a harmful unintended consequence.  

For countries facing a large influx of migrants, the best way to ensure that these new members of society have sustained access to essential health services is to have a long-term strategy – one that builds on existing health platforms.

In the Dominican Republic, the dual impact of large numbers of migrants and a health system overwhelmed by COVID-19 has meant that fewer health services are available for migrant women. LHSS is working to improve health protection for the country’s migrant women, most of whom come from Haiti.

Poor budget execution results in inefficiencies that undermine the ability of health agencies to improve access to needed health services and improve population health. Yet billions of dollars in unexecuted health budgets are returned to treasuries every year. 

Population movement of this magnitude places huge stress on health systems in receptor countries. How can health care for migrants be financed? How can health system capacity be expanded? And how can health sector policies and national migration policies be harmonized?