USAID and three of it’s global health projects – Health Finance and Governance, Sustaining Health Outcomes through the Private Sector Plus, and Health Policy Plus – hosted a side meeting at the 2017  Prince Mahidol Award Conference (PMAC) in January, 2017.

The annual conference held in Bangkok, Thailand, is hosted by the Prince Mahidol Award Foundation, the Royal Thai Government and other global partners, and focuses on policy-related public health issues of global significance. The conference brings together public health leaders and global stakeholders for discussions on high priority global health issues. PMAC 2017 took place January 29-February 3, with the theme: “Addressing the health of vulnerable populations for an inclusive society.”

USAID’s full-day side meeting on January 29, aimed to summarize the current state of knowledge on what works and what are the challenges to expanding essential health services to the most marginalized groups in low and middle income settings through financing and governance interventions. Presenters discussed evidence over recent years on the informal sector and the poor, including (1) what is needed to expand schemes aimed at universal coverage so that they reach those who are excluded, and (2) how initiatives targeted at those who are most vulnerable can be sustained and scaled up. Discussion covered the issue of what might make the proposed solutions more feasible, given the prevailing political economy of health and health systems in many low and middle income countries.

Speakers included:

• Jennifer Adams – Acting Assistant Administrator in the Bureau for Global Health, USAID
• Kelly Saldana – Director, Office of Health Systems, USAID.
• Asha George – South African Research Chair in Health Systems, Complexity and Social Change, School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape
• Davidson Gwatkin – Global Leader in Health Equity and Economic Development and a Senior Fellow at the Results for Development Institute
• Prastuti (Ibu Becky) Soewondo – Head of the Policy Working Group on Health Insurance at TNP2K (National Team for Poverty Reduction), Government of Indonesia

See the full agenda and program for more.

Presentations