Development partners and governments are increasing their emphasis on improving accountability and transparency of health systems, strengthening country policies and institutions to move towards universal health coverage (UHC). However, there is an overall lack of evidence and understanding of the dynamics of how improved governance can influence health system performance and health outcomes, and what governance interventions are appropriate for different contexts. This evidence gap can result in avoidance of health governance efforts or a reliance on a limited set of governance interventions.
Sara Bennett leads discussions on how governance affects health outcomes (Sept 2016)
To address this evidence gap, USAID’s Office of Health Systems (USAID/GH/OHS), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Health Finance and Governance (HFG) Project hosted a one-day kick-off workshop to launch the Marshalling the Evidence for Governance Contributions to Health System Performance and Health Outcomes Initiative in September 2016. The workshop brought together almost 50 health governance experts from USAID (OHS, the Center of Excellence for Democracy, Rights and Governance, and the Bureau for Economic Growth, Education and Environment), WHO, the World Bank, and academic and implementing partners. Objectives for the workshop included:
- Present a framework for health governance and shared knowledge of ongoing efforts to generate evidence of health governance contributions to health;
- Establish four thematic working groups (TWGs) to conduct and synthesize reviews of scientific evidence and tacit knowledge;
- Agree on the goals for the Fall 2017 culmination event.
Kick-off Workshop Materials
- Marshalling the Evidence of Governance Contributions to Health System Performance and Health Outcomes: Workshop Summary Report
- Presentation Slides: Understanding Linkages between Governance and Health: Concepts and Evidence
