Officials from the health and education sectors of Arequipa, Madre de Dios, Moquegua, Puno and Tacna regions of Peru begin discussions for implementing a regional COVID-19 communications strategy.

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? 

Panelists discuss the rapid evolution in knowledge of how to best care for critically ill COVID patients, how countries are quickly adapting to ensure improved care for patients, and lessons learned.

The Universal Nurse Model merges functions of three types of physician-directed nurses into one patient-centered nursing role, allowing better health outcomes with the same number of doctors and nurses.

LHSS supports scale up and adaptation of existing vaccination programs for COVID-19 while also strengthening countries’ capacity to manage other public health efforts in the future.