LHSS Bnagladesh is helping to identify and implement localized solutions to ensure that urban residents can access and afford high-quality primary health care services.

This learning brief captures LHSS’s experience in supporting municipal-level partners through the contracting process and distills emerging lessons to inspire other municipalities to pursue public-private partnerships as a vehicle for expanding access to urban PHC services.

This brief presents what LHSS has learned through applying a systems thinking approach to its support for HSCs’ advocacy efforts in expanding PHC services in urban Bangladesh.

Having proven invaluable in helping Ukrainians access health care throughout the Russian invasion, telemedicine is poised to play an integral role in health care delivery in Ukraine after the war ends. 

Ukraine is facing extraordinary challenges to its health system amidst the Russian invasion, including attacks on Ukrainian medical facilities and infrastructure. To restore and maintain critical health services to Ukraine’s dispersed population, the Ministry of Health is strengthening its capacity to offer medical consultations via telemedicine. This two-page Progress Update describes LHSS technical assistance for the effort and results as of January 2023.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused many doctors to leave the country, compromised patients’ safety when seeking care, and displaced large portions of the population away from their primary health care providers. A strong national telemedicine system will be key to assuring access to health services for Ukrainians, now and in the future. Experiences from other conflict/disaster areas may provide insights, helping Ukraine assess and implement its own telemedicine response.

This brief highlights learnings from working with local government leaders of two city corporations and ten district-level municipalities from the Rajshahi and Sylhet divisions in Bangladesh.

Both Ghana and Bangladesh have implemented health budget accountability mechanisms. Their experiences offer practical lessons that other countries can adapt to their own budget execution needs. 

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.

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. 

The proliferation of mobile telephones and advances in digital financial technology have created opportunities for faster progress towards achieving Universal Health Coverage.