A general consensus exists that as a country develops economically, health spending per capita rises and the share of that spending that is prepaid through government or private mechanisms also rises. However, the speed and magnitude of these change...s vary substantially across countries, even at similar levels of development. In this study, we use past trends and relationships to estimate future health spending, disaggregated by the source of those funds, to identify the financing trajectories that are likely to occur if current policies and trajectories evolve as expected.
Methods
We extracted data from WHO's Health Spending Observatory and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation's Financing Global Health 2015 report. We converted these data to a common purchasing power-adjusted and inflation-adjusted currency. We used a series of ensemble models and observed empirical norms to estimate future government out-of-pocket private prepaid health spending and development assistance for health. We aggregated each country's estimates to generate total health spending from 2013 to 2040 for 184 countries. We compared these estimates with each other and internationally recognised benchmarks.
Findings
Global spending on health is expected to increase from US$7·83 trillion in 2013 to $18·28 (uncertainty interval 14·42–22·24) trillion in 2040 (in 2010 purchasing power parity-adjusted dollars). We expect per-capita health spending to increase annually by 2·7% (1·9–3·4) in high-income countries, 3·4% (2·4–4·2) in upper-middle-income countries, 3·0% (2·3–3·6) in lower-middle-income countries, and 2·4% (1·6–3·1) in low-income countries. Given the gaps in current health spending, these rates provide no evidence of increasing parity in health spending. In 1995 and 2015, low-income countries spent $0·03 for every dollar spent in high-income countries, even after adjusting for purchasing power, and the same is projected for 2040. Most importantly, health spending in many low-income countries is expected to remain low. Estimates suggest that, by 2040, only one (3%) of 34 low-income countries and 36 (37%) of 98 middle-income countries will reach the Chatham House goal of 5% of gross domestic product consisting of government health spending.
Interpretation
Despite remarkable health gains, past health financing trends and relationships suggest that many low-income and lower-middle-income countries will not meet internationally set health spending targets and that spending gaps between low-income and high-income countries are unlikely to narrow unless substantive policy interventions occur. Although gains in health system efficiency can be used to make progress, current trends suggest that meaningful increases in health system resources will require concerted action.
Funding
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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Development assistance for health (DAH) has increased substantially in recent years and is seen as important to the improvement of health and health...> systems in developing countries. As a result, there has been increasing interest in tracking and understanding these resource flows from the global health community. A number of datasets, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, are available to track DAH. In this article we review the available datasets on DAH and summarize the strengths and weaknesses of each of these datasets to help researchers make the best choice of which to use to inform their analysis. Finally, we also provide recommendations about how each of these datasets could be improve
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Introduction Community health workers (CHWs) are increasingly being tasked to prevent and manage cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk factors in underserved populations in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs); however, little is known... about the required training necessary for them to accomplish their role. This review aimed to evaluate the training of CHWs for the prevention and management of CVD and its risk factors in LMICs.
Methods A search strategy was developed in line with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, and five electronic databases (Medline, Global Health, ERIC, EMBASE and CINAHL) were searched to identify peer-reviewed studies published until December 2016 on the training of CHWs for prevention or control of CVD and its risk factors in LMICs. Study characteristics were extracted using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and quality assessed using Effective Public Health Practice Project’s Quality Assessment Tool. The search, data extraction and quality assessment were performed independently by two researchers.
Results The search generated 928 articles of which 8 were included in the review. One study was a randomised controlled trial, while the remaining were before–after intervention studies. The training methods included classroom lectures, interactive lessons, e-learning and online support and group discussions or a mix of two or more. All the studies showed improved knowledge level post-training, and two studies demonstrated knowledge retention 6 months after the intervention.
Conclusion The results of the eight included studies suggest that CHWs can be trained effectively for CVD prevention and management. However, the effectiveness of CHW trainings would likely vary depending on context given the differences between studies (eg, CHW demographics, settings and training programmes) and the weak quality of six of the eight studies. Well-conducted mixed-methods studies are needed to provide reliable evidence about the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of training programmes for CHWs.
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The Community Health Systems (CHS) Catalog is a resource that provides information on community health program workers, and interventions for the 25 countries deemed priority by USAID’s Of of Pop...ulation and Reproductive Health. It comprises a compilation of 25 country profiles developed from a desk review of community health policies, strategies, a related documentation.
This document summarizes country trends drawn from the CHS Catalog and highlights interesting and relevant findings
about the global community health policy landscape.
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Abstract: Chagas disease is caused by infection with the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, and although over 100 years have passed since the discovery of Chagas disease, it still presents an increasing problem for global public ...highlight medbox">health. A plethora of information concerning the chronic phase of human Chagas disease, particularly the severe cardiac form, is available in the literature. However, information concerning events during the acute phase of the disease is scarce. In this review, we will discuss the current status of acute Chagas disease cases globally, the immunological findings related to the acute phase and their possible influence in disease outcome, and reactivation of Chagas disease in immunocompromised individuals, a key point for transplantation and HIV invection management.
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Translating Community Research Into Global Policy Reform For National Action: A Checklist For Community Engagement To Implement The WHO Consolidated Guideline On The Sexual And Reproductive Health A...nd Rights Of Women Living With HIV
3rd edition | December 2018
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Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when organisms that cause disease are no longer susceptible/responsive to antimicrobial agents that previously were effective in combating them. AMR is a global problem with particularly dire consequences for ...Africa which is already grappling with high levels of infection in the face of limited resources.
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COVID-19 has triggered the deepest global recession since the 1930s. Extreme poverty has risen for the first time in 22 years, and unemployment has increased dramatically. Women and young people aged 15 – 29 working in the informal sector are bein...g hit the hardest. School closures have affected 91 per cent of students worldwide.
Political conflicts are more intense and taking a heavy toll on civilians, disproportionately affecting children. Women and girls are at increased risk of conflict-related sexual violence. Attacks against aid and health workers persist. For the ninth consecutive year, more than 90 per cent of casualties from explosive weapons in populated areas were civilians.
The last decade saw the highest-ever number of people internally displaced by conflict and violence, with many locked in a state of protracted displacement. There are an estimated 51 million new and existing IDPs, and the number of refugees has doubled to 20 million.
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Around the world, nurses are working under enormous pressure providing care to sick and dying patients during the pandemic. Many are faced with increased stress, and other negative effects on their mental health. They are also faced with the possibi...lity of infection and death from COVID-19. Before the pandemic there was a global shortage of nurses, but this is likely to be exacerbated by the increased demands of caring during COVID-19 as well as the usual care of non-COVID patients.
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A World of Healthy People Who are Protected from Vaccine-Preventable Disease, Disability, and Death. Progress toward that vision is structured around five capacity building goals, and implemented using four guiding principles, to achieve ...="attribute-to-highlight medbox">health impact objectives.
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Lancet Public Health 2022 Published Online October 25, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(22)00197-9
Executive summary
In the past few decades, major public health advances have happened in E...urope, with drastic decreases in premature mortality and a life expectancy increase of almost 9 years since 1980. European countries have some of the best health-care systems in the world. However,Europe is challenged with unprecedented and overlapping crises that are detrimental to human health and livelihoods and threaten adaptive capacity, including the
COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the fastest-growing migrant crisis since World War 2, population displacement, environmental degradation, and deepening inequalities. Compared with pre-industrial times, the mean average European surface air temperature increase has been almost 1°C higher than the average global temperature increase, and 2022 was the hottest European summer on record.
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Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the Americas and raised blood pressure accounts for over 50% of CVD. In the Americas over a quarter of adult women and four in ten adult men have hypertension and the diagnosis, treatment and control are suboptimal. In 2021, the World ...an class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">Health Organization (WHO) released an updated guideline for the pharmacological treatment of hypertension in adults. This policy paper highlights the facilitating role of the WHO Global HEARTS initiative and the HEARTS in the Americas initiative to catalyze the implementation of this guideline, provides specific policy advice for implementation, and emphasizes that an overarching strategic approach for hypertension control is needed. The authors urge health advocates and policymakers to prioritize the prevention and control of hypertension to improve the health and wellbeing of their populations and to reduce CVD health disparities within and between populations of the Americas.
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Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is often thought to be a problem of wealthy, industrialized nations. The term “cardiovascular disease” is used throughout the report to refer to cardiac disease, vascular diseases of the brain and kidney, and peripheral vascular disease. The report’s main focus is ...on the major contributors to global CVD mortality, coronary heart disease and stroke, and on the major modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. In fact, as the leading cause of death worldwide, CVD now has a major impact not only on developed nations but also on low and middle income countries, where it accounts for nearly 30 percent of all deaths. The terms “developed” and “high income countries” are used interchangeably throughout the report to refer to countries classified by the World Bank as high income economies. The terms “developing” and “low and middle income countries” are used interchangeably throughout the report to refer to countries classified by the World Bank as low, lower middle, and upper middle income economies. The increased prevalence of risk factors for CVD and related chronic diseases in developing countries, including tobacco use, unhealthy dietary changes, reduced physical activity, increasing blood lipids, and hypertension, reflects significant global changes in behavior and lifestyle. The term “chronic diseases” is used throughout the report to refer to CVD and the following related chronic diseases that share many common risk factors: diabetes, cancer, and chronic respiratory disease. These changes now threaten once-low-risk regions, a shift that is accelerated by industrialization, urbanization, and globalization. The potentially devastating effects of these trends are magnified by a deleterious economic impact on nations and households, where poverty can be both a contributing cause and a consequence of chronic diseases. The accelerating rates of unrecognized and inadequately addressed CVD and related chronic diseases in both men and women in low and middle income countries are cause for immediate action.
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Over the past two decades, China has become a distinctive and increasingly important donor of development assistance for health (DAH). However, little is known about what factors influence China’s priority-setting for DAH. In this study, we provid...e an updated analysis of trends in the priorities of Chinese DAH and compare them to comparable trends among OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donors using data from the AidData’s Global Chinese Development Finance Dataset (2000–2017, version 2.0) and the Creditor Reporting System (CRS) database (2000–2017). We also analyse Chinese medical aid exports before and after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic using a Chinese Aid Exports Database.
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The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to transform our world. They are a call to action to end poverty and inequality, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy health, justice and prosperity. It is critical that no one is le...ft behind. In 2015, all the countries in the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It sets out 17 Goals, which include 169 targets. These wide-ranging and ambitious Goals interconnect. SDG 3 is to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. It has 13 targets measured through 26 indicators. However, a person’s health and well-being are affected not only by disease and treatment, but also by social and economic factors such as housing, poverty and education. Health targets can therefore also be found across the other SDGs. This fact sheet shows how alcohol consumption undermines commitments to achieve 13 of the 17 SDGs, impacting on a range of health-related indicators, such as child health, infectious diseases and road injuries as well as much broader range of indicators related to economic and social development, environment and equality. The inclusion of a specific target on harmful use of alcohol (SDG 3.5: strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol) into the SDGs demonstrates the key role of alcohol within the global development agenda. The factsheet highlights positive examples of Member States’ experiences. It provides a short overview of the most cost-effective and feasible policy recommendations to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-attributable burden in the WHO European Region, in line with the European Action Plan to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol. It also suggests some important resources for Member States. This factsheet was launched as part of the European Awareness Week on Alcohol Related Harm 2020.
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This guide was prepared to enable advocates to use data
when advocating for universal access to SRHR at the national,
regional and global levels. It is a direct outcome of the Strategic
SRHR Indicators workshop held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on
...21-22 August for the project “Strengthening the Networking,
Knowledge Management and Advocacy Capacities of an AsiaPacific
Network for SRHR” supported by the EU.
One of the major objectives of the project is to develop
a comprehensive monitoring framework of indicators for
measuring government performance to fulfil their international
commitments, particularly to the ICPD and the MDGs, both in
the Asia-Pacific region and globally.
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Climate change (CC) impacts on health outcomes, both direct and indirect, are sufficient to jeopardize achieving the World Bank Group’s visions and agendas in poverty reduction, population resilience, and ...">health, nutrition and population (HNP). In the last 5 years, the number of voices calling for stronger international action on climate change and health has increased, as have the scale and depth of activities. But current global efforts in climate and health are inadequately integrated. As a result, actions to address climate change, including World Bank Group (WBG) investment and lending, are missing opportunities to simultaneously promote better health outcomes and more resilient populations and health sectors. Accordingly, with the financial support of the Nordic Development Fund (NDF), the World Bank Group set out to develop an approach and a 4-year action plan, outlined in this paper, to integrate health-related climate considerations into selected WBG sector plans and investments.
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Climate change is damaging human health now and is projected to have a greater impact in the future. Low- and middle-income countries are seeing the worst effects as they are most vulnerable to climate shifts and least able to adapt given weak ... class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">health systems and poor infrastructure. Low-carbon approach can provide effective, cheaper care while at the same time being climate smart. Low-carbon healthcare can advance institutional strategies toward low-carbon development and health-strengthening imperatives and inspire other development institutions and investors working in this space. Low-carbon healthcare provides an approach for designing, building, operating, and investing in health systems and facilities that generate minimal amounts of greenhouse gases. It puts health systems on a climate-smart development path, aligning health development and delivery with global climate goals. This approach saves money by reducing energy and resource costs. It can improve the quality of care in a diversity of settings. By prompting ministries of health to tackle climate change mitigation and foster low-carbon healthcare, the development community can help governments strengthen local capacity and support better community health.
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This paper focuses on the Sustainable Development Goals related to poverty, economic growth, inequality, health, food production and the environment. It presents concrete examples of the underlying and complex aspects of antibiotic resistance and it...s impacts across different Sustainable Development Goals. The aim of this paper is to inform and stimulate discussions on how to further advance the implementation of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance, National Action plans on Antimicrobial Resistance, as well as work within all sectors that affect and are affected by antibiotic resistance
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The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today released two new data dashboards that highlight the huge disparities in countries’ abilities to cope with and recover from the COVID-19 crisis.
The pandemic is more than a global ...="attribute-to-highlight medbox">health emergency. It is a systemic human development crisis, already affecting the economic and social dimensions of development in unprecedented ways. Policies to reduce vulnerabilities and build capacities to tackle crises, both in the short and long term, are vital if individuals and societies are to better weather and recover from shocks like this.
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