With the recent adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the UN General Assembly, the global development community has flagged multi-sectoral approaches to achieve the 17 new goals. Goal three, “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages,” includes targets for: decreased maternal and child deaths; ending deaths from AIDS, malaria, and TB; and expanding universal health coverage and financial risk protection.

Governance has been increasingly recognized as a crucial element for sustaining health gains. Stronger oversight and greater transparency in the health sector will help to ensure that health resources reach those who need them most.

On Thursday, September 24th, just a few days before the SDG Summit, HFG’s governance lead Jeremy Kanthor, and governance specialist, Lisa Tarantino, participated in a Twitter Chat on “Effective Governance in Health.” The #GovernHealth Twitter Chat, hosted by the Leadership, Management, and Governance (LMG) project, posed eight questions to invited experts and participants:

1. What does “good governance” look like in a public health context?
2. Who governs? How should someone know that they have a role in contributing to good governance?
3. Corruption is often linked to poor political governance, how does it impact health ministries/institutions?
4. Who are the key people who govern health? What steps can they take to mitigate corruption?
5. What role do governing bodies play in citizen engagement? How can institutions encourage citizen engagement?
6. Is the appointment of trustees & chairs inclusive? Do bodies perpetuate gender inequity, or promote equality?
7. What is the next step? Where do donors & health institutions look for insight into “good governance?”

HFG’s experts shared their expertise throughout the chat, emphasizing the importance of involving civil society organizations. See the compilation of tweets via storify below to follow the conversation, and check out some of our governance work and resources:

• Tools to Help Civil Society Engage in Health Finance and Governance (Toolkit)
• Bridging the Gap between Ministries of Health and Ministries of Finance (Toolkit)
• Essential Package of Health Services Country Snapshot Series (Report Series)
• Generating Evidence of Governance Contributions to Health Outcomes (Workshop Report)