LHSS Chief of Party in Peru, Paulina Giusti learns what three organizations in Peru and Colombia are doing to improve access and link people with mental health needs to the services they require through psychosocial support networks.

With increased migration around the world posing unique challenges and opportunities for health systems, efforts to better integrate and include migrants and host communities in national health systems are an integral part of the global health equity agenda. 

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. 

Returning funds to the Ministry of Finance at the end of the fiscal year is the last thing any Ministry of Health wants to do. In Peru, health budget officials are rolling out a strategy to stop that from happening.

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.

​​​For countries wanting to strengthen health budget execution, learning about promising approaches used by others is one thing but putting them into practice is another. This blog reveals how two countries, Lao PDR and Peru, adapted promising practices and began to implement them.

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.

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.

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?