To advance progress toward universal health coverage, agreed-upon health priorities need to be reflected in national plans and budgets. This blog offers key lessons for ministries of health seeking to make that happen.

Training in advanced cardiovascular life support is helping Jordanian health care professionals save more lives. “I dream of going one week without a single death,” says an ICU nurse.

Thanks to a multiyear strategy supported by LHSS and predecessor USAID projects, Vietnam now funds approximately 52 percent of its HIV/AIDS program through domestic financial resources.

Through intensive engagement with residents, health workers and other community leaders countered misinformation and eased people's concerns. The result: thousands more COVID-19 vaccinations.

With a grant from LHSS, the Jamaican health care firm Online Medics is supporting the government’s COVID-19 vaccination effort while gaining valuable new business capacities. “LHSS allowed me to think in the long term – where I wanted my company to go and what I need to do to get it there,” says owner Alex Tracey.

When the next emergency hits, health authorities will have a plan ready to activate. 

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.

Health workers play a central role not only in providing continued care for COVID-19 patients, but also in promoting vaccination and combating misinformation, with evidence-based health education. 

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.

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.

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? 

The events of the past 18 months underscore the importance of generally strong, equitable, and accessible health systems. COVID-19 is not the only threat we face, and as we prepare for the future it is critical that we begin to sufficiently invest in the foundational health system strengthening required to develop lasting resilience. 

The pandemic has presented an urgent challenge to Colombia’s already overburdened, understaffed health system. Rapid response teams are traversing roads, mountain paths, and rivers to help health officials contain the spread of COVID-19. 

Online courses cover mental health, patients with disabilities, counseling, and more

Patients in Jordan grateful for telecounseling calls