Health

Why do finance ministries matter to achieving universal health coverage?

In the sustainable development goals (SDGs) era, the imperative to finance the development agenda from domestic resources has been amplified. Irrespective of a government’s best intentions to achieve universal health coverage (UHC), without adequate financing from its national budget, minimal progress will be made. This is in stark contrast to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) era (from 2000- 2015) where emphasis was on effective development cooperation (EDC). And when it comes to achieving UHC, financing is actually only part of the role ministries of finance can play. Indeed, in a recent Lancet article, H.E Taro Aso, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Japan, pointed out that the finance ministry’s “crucial role in Japan’s UHC achievement has not been adequately highlighted”.

Removing the stigma of mental illness in India

A report on the economic burden of mental illness argues that depression and anxiety disorders cost the world nearly $1 trillion annually. Conversely, every dollar invested in mental health contributes $4 to the economy. Photo credit: TNMHP

April 7 marked the 70^th anniversary of World Health Day. This was an opportunity for the global community to redouble its efforts to ensure that all people can improve their health, including their mental health.

When his father died, Gopi, a carpenter in rural Tamil Nadu, India was overwhelmed by an enormous mental and financial burden.

Gopi became depressed, left his job, and isolated himself.

As his condition worsened, Gopi’s two younger sisters dropped out from high school to take on farming jobs to support the family.

However, thanks to medicine, counseling, and livelihood support from the Mental Health Program (TNMHP), Gopi eventually rehabilitated himself and got back to carpentry a year later.

With time, he even took out a Rs. 20,000 loan to start his own carpentry business.

Gopi’s experience—and many others’—illustrate how mental health is integral to well-being.

The World Bank recognizes mental health as a key challenge to sustainable development.

A report on the economic burden of mental illness argues that depression and anxiety disorders cost the world nearly $1 trillion annually. Conversely, every dollar invested in mental health contributes $4 to the economy.

Accordingly, the World Bank-supported the Mental Health Program in the state of Tamil Nadu, India that incorporates best practices in mental health from around the world.

The project is an important instrument in addressing the magnitude of India’s mental health challenges, and provides a successful model for the implementation of the national mental health policy and improve mental health infrastructure and care in Indian states.

By closely involving the community, the project reduced stigma and prejudice attached to mental illness and empowered vulnerable people with mental disabilities to gain respect in their communities.

People with mental disabilities are diagnosed and treated and provided livelihood support through vocational training, self-help groups, job cards, and identity cards to access social benefits.

7 ideas on how knowledge can help us achieve universal access to safely-managed drinking water and sanitation

It is vital that we better manage our knowledge, to make better use of it for delivering universal access to water and sanitation. This requires new ways of capturing, sorting, weighing, curating, and translating knowledge into practical, bite-sized chunks. The Disease Control Priorities project, now in its third edition (www.dcp-3.org), is an excellent example of what this looks like in practice. It aims to compile the best available evidence across multiple areas of health to provide a snapshot of the coverage of services, the problems resulting from lack of services, the effectiveness of interventions, and the cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit of those options.

Disease Control Priorities Network (DCPN), funded in 2010 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is a multi-year project managed by
University of Washington’s Department of Global Health (UW-DGH) and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).

As authors of the WASH chapter of DCP-3, we wanted to share some of our key takeaways below:

Amp up your 2018 Spring Meetings experience

Our 2018 Spring Meetings is just around the corner and it’s time to get organized. Mainstage speakers include representatives from top-notch institutions such as LinkedIn, Oxford University, Financial Times, Brookings Institution — in addition to influencers Bill Gates and Jeff Weiner.

Connect, engage and watch to take full advantage of everything the #WBGMeetings has to offer.

Towards Universal Health Coverage: Tackling the health financing crisis to end poverty

World Health Day this year is focused on universal health coverage (UHC) and the urgent need for #HealthforAll. Taking place on April 7, it’s an opportune time to call on world leaders to commit to concrete steps to work towards and support financing for UHC. Many countries have made great strides towards UHC, but it’s not still enough.

Sexual harassment – Where do we stand on legal protection for women?

Women abused in her home holding her hand up. Stop sexual harassment against women. Violence and abuse in family relations. © Fure/Shutterstock.com — Woman abused in her home holding her hand up. Stop sexual harassment against women, violence and abuse in family relations. © Fure/Shutterstock.com

The #MeToo movement is transforming the way we perceive, and hopefully, deal with sexual harassment.

For too long women have suffered from this type of violence that has negative consequences on their voice and agency as well as their capacity to fully participate in the economy and society. There is ample evidence of the cost of sexual harassment to businesses – in legal settlements, lost work time and loss of business. But sexual harassment also has negative effects on women’s economic opportunities. For example, if no recourse is available to protect them, instead of reporting the problem, women facing sexual harassment in the workplace often say that they have no other choice but to quit. This may mean starting over, missing out on pay raises, career growth opportunities, and earning potential. Studies suggest that sexual harassment reduces career success and satisfaction for women. Yet, many countries still do not afford women adequate legal protection against this pervasive form of gender inequality.

How has Afghanistan achieved better health for its citizens?

A local woman has brought her eight-month-old son to the Baidari Hospital in eastern Jalalabad city for vaccination. Photo Credit: Rumi Consultancy/ World Bank

Over the last 15 years—despite continuing insecurity—Afghanistan has made steady progress to improve the health of its citizens, especially women and children. Health services have expanded as far as remote areas to reach underserved communities thanks to innovative partnerships with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

To understand what underpins such health gains, we sat down with Ghulam Dastagir Sayed, Senior Health Specialist at the World Bank and one of the authors of the recently published report Progress in the Face of Insecurity.

"Real governance" in Fragile, Conflict-affected and Violent States - What is that?

Children in a school in Kinshasa. Photo © Dominic Chavez/World Bank.

The Fragility Forum was held in Washington D.C. from March 5 to 7. More than 1,000 people from over 90 different countries attended. At one of the events, ‘Real Governance in FCV settings: Engaging State and Non-State Actors in Development’ practitioners and policy-makers discussed which actors to work with in complex FCV situations, and what the choice of actors would mean from a human rights and social accountability perspective.

In Fragile, Conflict-affected and Violent States (FCVs), the formal state typically has a low capacity to deliver basic services, to respond to demands and to impose security. It often does not have full or exclusive authority over its territory and is competing with other groups for legitimacy to exercise state powers.

Maximizing finance for safe and resilient roads

Around the world, roads remain the dominant mode of transport and are among the most heavily-used types of infrastructure, accounting for about 80% of the distance travelled for individuals and 50% for goods.

Despite this intensive use, the funding available for road maintenance has been inadequate, leaving roads in many countries unsafe and unfit for purpose.

To make matters worse, roads are also very vulnerable to climate and disaster risk: when El Niño hit Peru in 2017, the related flooding damaged about 18% of the Peruvian road network in just one month.

It is no surprise then that roads are the sector that will require the most financing. In fact, the G20 estimates that roads account for more than half of the $15 trillion investment gap in infrastructure through 2040.

Global Tobacco Control: Inching Forward but No End-Game Yet

Earlier this month, we attended the 17th World Conference on Tobacco or Health , held in Cape Town, South Africa--the first time on the African continent. While we celebrated the effort made by the global community to implement the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) over the past decade, it was sobering to realize that a greatly intensified and sustained effort is required in the future. Business as usual will not suffice.

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