Health systems strengthening (also health system strengthening, abbreviated HSS) is a term used in
global health
Global health is the health of the populations in the worldwide context; it has been defined as "the area of study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide". Problem ...
that roughly means to improve the health care system of a country. Within this general definition, it can mean increasing funding for health infrastructure, improving health policy, trying to achieve
universal healthcare
Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized ar ...
,
or any number of other health measures.
There has been some effort to use a
systems thinking approach to health systems strengthening.
Organizations that use health systems strengthening
Various health organizations have claimed to use health systems strengthening (while not necessarily agreeing on the definition). Some of these are:
*
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...
*
US Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bil ...
(USAID, uses different definition from the one in a 2006 Global Fund-commissioned WHO report);
[ USAID states that HSS has been "at the core of tsmission in health for the last 20 years", and defines HSS as "initiating activities in the six internationally accepted core HSS functions – human resources for health; health finance; health governance; health information; medical products, vaccines, and technologies; and service delivery".]GAVI Alliance
GAVI, officially Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (previously the GAVI Alliance, and before that the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization) is a public–private global health partnership with the goal of increasing access to immunization ...
[
* The ]Global Fund
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (or simply the Global Fund) is an international financing and partnership organization that aims to "attract, leverage and invest additional resources to end the epidemics of HIV/AIDS, t ...
[
* ]PEPFAR
The United States President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is a United States governmental initiative to address the global HIV/AIDS epidemic and help save the lives of those suffering from the disease. Launched by U.S. President Geo ...
(though less developed)[
* Stop TB Partnership (uses different definition from the one in a 2006 Global Fund-commissioned WHO report)][
* Roll Back Malaria (uses different definition from the one in a 2006 Global Fund-commissioned WHO report)][
]
Reception
Both the idea of health systems strengthening and the term itself have received attention.
Even advocates of health systems strengthening admit that it can often seem like a "distant, even abstract aim".[
Marchal et al., writing in 2009, called the term "vague" and argued that "most current HSS strategies are selective (i.e., they target a specific disease), and their effects may undermine progress towards the long-term goal of effective, high-quality, and inclusive health systems."]World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...
, has pointed out that "Almost any support to health interventions can be considered HSS".
See also
* Timeline of global health
* Health system § Health systems performance
References
{{reflist
Global health