On November 14th – 15th, HFG partnered with USAID’s Office of Health Systems (OHS), and the World Health Organization (WHO) to host a meeting on Better Health Governance, Better Health Systems: The Evidence in Washington, DC. This meeting was part of the Marshalling the Evidence Initiative, launched in September 2016, aimed at increasing awareness and understanding of the evidence of what works and why on how strengthened governance contributes to improved health system performance and outcomes.

As part of the 2-day event, participants shared key findings from the four thematic working group (TWG) reports and explored the practical implications for policy makers, program managers, and donors. In addition to the main event, a short event was also organized on November 15th which provided an opportunity for the four TWG to present their findings to the larger DC-based development community. Recommendations from this meeting were also presented by USAID at the UHC Forum in Tokyo, Japan, December 2017.

Kelly Saldana, Director, USAID Office of Health Systems, provides a background on the Marshalling the Evidence Initiative

Representatives from each of the four TWGs presented their findings during the 2-day meeting held in Washington, D.C., November 2017.

 Thematic Working Group Reports

The four thematic working groups (TWGs) consolidated evidence from literature reviews and key informant interviews from low and middle income countries in selected areas to develop the following reports:

1. Derick W. Brinkerhoff, David Jacobstein, Jeremy Kanthor, Dheepa Rajan and Katie Shepard. October 2017. Accountability, Health Governance, and Health Systems: Uncovering the Linkages. Bethesda, MD: Health Finance & Governance Project, Abt Associates Inc.
2. Adam Koon, Lauren Windmeyer, Maryam Bigdelli, Jodi Charles, Fadi El Jardali, Walter Flores, Jesse Uneke, Sara Bennett. October 2017. A Scoping Review of the Uses and Institutionalization of Knowledge for Health Policy in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Bethesda, MD: Health Finance & Governance Project, Abt Associates Inc.
3. Shreeshant Prabhakaran, Arin Dutta, Akshar Saxena, Kelsee Stromberg, David Clarke, Suneeta Sharma October 2017. Do Better Laws and Regulations Promote Universal Health Coverage? A Review of the Evidence.Bethesda, MD: Health Finance & Governance Project, Abt Associates Inc.
4. Hélène Barroy, Karima Saleh, Catherine Connor, Annie Baldridge and Elizabeth Elfman. October 2017. Public Financial Management, Health Governance, and Health Systems. Bethesda, MD: Health Finance & Governance Project, Abt Associates Inc.

Visit the Health Governance Publication Library for a full list of HFG resources.

Synthesis Report

March 2018. Better Governance, Better Health? Composite Evidence from Four Literature Reviews. Bethesda, MD: Health Finance & Governance Project, Abt Associates Inc.

Catherine Connor, Deputy Director, HFG Project, highlights findings as they relate to public financial management

Better Health Governance, Better Health Systems: The Evidence, November 2017