Building Resilient Health Systems: A Global Approach

Review various definitions of health system resilience and formulate a working definition for the program.

“Health system resilience is the ability of a system to prepare for an unexpected shock which will have a high impact on that system.”

Identify and analyze the key challenges facing global health systems, including pandemics, climate change, and conflicts.

“Global health systems are facing various challenges including the impacts brought on by the pandemic, also the impacts of the climate crisis and the impact of conflicts that are happening all across the world.”

Investigate strategies for pooling resources, such as regional procurement policies, to improve buying capacity.

“Looking at regional procurement policies, where you can pool resources in a particular region or subregion to bring about better buying capacity to be able to procure medicine and technology.”

Understand the long-term benefits of investing in preventative care and its role in reducing stresses on the healthcare system.

“Investing in preventative care is a major strategy for fostering resilience. Not only can it result in savings in the long term, it reduces the potential for stresses to occur in the first place.”

Develop strategies to ensure better access to essential medical facilities and supplies in remote communities.

“Another important step towards building a resilient healthcare system is ensuring better access to essential medical facilities and supplies like vaccines for remote communities.”

Explore the role of digital technologies, such as telehealth and data analytics, in enhancing healthcare delivery and resilience.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, we also saw the huge role digital technologies played in response efforts, from enabling governments and health bodies to track the spread of the virus, to digital tools like telehealth becoming more widely used.”