The growing presence of China as a forceful proponent in Global Health is beginning to receive proper attention. There can be no doubt that the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI) of China has begun to define the range of realistic future scenarios for individual and concerted action. These scenarios should simultaneously account for both universalizing and […]
Category: Health System
The WHO Astana Declaration: Where lies the future of primary health care?
Last week, governments of UN member states, academics and the international health community were hosted by WHO and the Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan in Astana to reaffirm their commitment to universal primary health care. This pledge was first pronounced 40 years ago in Almaty on a Declaration that moulded the way primary healthcare works […]
Why Informed Patients are Key to Addressing India’s TB Crisis ?
From close to a decade of experience in working on Tuberculosis (TB) in India, I have noticed a constant refrain from the stories and narratives of the TB affected: ‘we didn’t know anything about TB.’ An equally common connected complaint is: ‘we were never provided the relevant information needed to fight TB.’ Why do patients […]
We need to question all ‘donor fads’, not only performance-based financing
By Shola Molemodile I applaud Paul and colleagues, authors of the recent BMJ Global Health paper on performance-based financing in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), for being bold. We need more daring authors in health systems and global health, who are unafraid to state the obvious as these authors have done. While many may be […]
Towards a more balanced rethinking of performance-based financing
By Maarten Oranje In a recently published paper in BMJ Global Health, a group of authors (Paul et al) challenged overly optimistic views on performance-based financing (PBF) in the health sector, and its implementation in low- and middle-income countries. While some of the issues they raised are legitimate, the paper paints an overall picture of […]
Rethinking performance-based financing: sustainability must be part of the debate
By Priscilla N Owusu In the recent BMJ Global Health article Paul et al critique the notion that performance-based financing (PBF) is an effective approach to improving health service delivery in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). They do so by highlighting concerns about the mixed evidence supporting the efficacy of the intervention. Using Rwanda as […]
The baby and the bathwater: can we have a more constructive debate on performance-based financing?
By Godelieve van Heteren Paul et al’s critique In a recent paper in BMJ Global Health, 24 authors (Paul et al) – the majority of whom are French-speaking academics and consultants from northern countries – declared that performance-based financing (PBF) in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) health systems needs an urgent rethink. They claim it is […]
R N Karuga: “Building a resilient and responsive health system needs strong community support”
“Forget about these people in the national office,” said Maria (not her real name). “They are not in touch with reality!” Maria is a district health manager in Kenya. This was her response when I asked how closely she works with the national Ministry of Health in delivering community health services. In 2013, the governance […]