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 […]
Latest articles
How to ask for more trouble in an ailing health system
By Meena Putturaj Photo by Geralt under CC 0 India is one of the world’s largest economies and its health system is ranked 154th globally by the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. Time and again, India has expressed its commitment to achieving universal health coverage (UHC), but are the policy choices being made in […]
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 […]
Trade versus health: an old argument with new hope for tobacco control in India
By Monika Arora and Soumyadeep Bhaumik ‘Two steps forward, one step back’ is probably the most appropriate catchphrase to describe the arduous progress that India has made in the use of pictorial health warnings (PHW) on tobacco products. PHWs were first implemented in India in 2009 after repeated directives from High Courts and the Supreme Court […]
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 […]
Public health forgets the potential of family medicine principles in spite of available evidence
By Pieter van den Hombergh and Jarl Chabot The fact that universal health coverage (UHC) is a moral obligation is no longer debatable. What is debatable now is what processes and evidence are needed to realise UHC. The recent article in BMJ Global Health provided a sophisticated view on “how to reach UHC” and we hope responsible […]
Why are there so many doctors leading global health?
By Paisly Symenuk The appointment of Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus as the Director General of the World Health Organization has paved the path for greater diversity within the organization. He has been applauded for attaining regional and gender parity in the WHO’s executive leadership. We should indeed celebrate the choice for diversity in geographic background of […]
Where are the economic benefits we, the TB-affected, were promised?
Deepti Chavan When the Government of India in its National Tuberculosis Strategic Plan 2017-2022 announced that tuberculosis (TB) patients would be provided direct economic benefits while on treatment, I was overjoyed. I have seen up close and upfront how TB affects a family’s economic status. I am a multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB survivor. My six-year […]
Addressing the global health funding gap: Italy needs to step up!
Dr Giorgia Sulis Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) account for as much as 85% of the world population and over 90% of the global burden of disease, and mostly count on international donor funding for health, the average domestic health expenditure being lower than 12% (Figure 1). Although there has been a dramatic increase in […]