Developing Resilient Public Health Systems

Join us on  April for an in-person discussion on Developing Resilient Public Health Systems with speakers from City St George’s, University of London, International SOS, Options Consultancy Services and Sightsavers. Our speakers will provide valuable insights into how different strategies and initiatives can contribute to building resilient health systems capable of tackling acute and chronic public health threats.

The world is off track to make significant progress towards universal health coverage (UHC), SDG target 3.8, and health security goals by 2030. According to the World Health Organization, improvements to health services coverage have stagnated since 2015, and the proportion of the population that faced catastrophic levels of out-of-pocket health spending has increased continuously since 2000. This global pattern is consistent across all regions and the majority of countries. As demonstrated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and recent conflicts, health systems worldwide are under constant pressure from a range of public health threats, both acute and chronic. These challenges can severely impact the delivery of essential health services, if they exist, leading to increasing setbacks in achieving universal health coverage.

There is a need for a renewed focus on building resilience by addressing critical vulnerabilities within health systems and taking a systems strengthening approach. Addressing the challenge requires collaboration across a wide range of actors, including policy makers and local organisations, as well as international delivery partners.

Our speakers will highlight the importance of key areas in developing resilient public health systems, including the role of off-grid vaccine storage systems in remote areas to support immunisation programmes, taking a systems strengthening approach to neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and tackling drug-resistant infections from a systems perspective. The event will also feature presentations addressing crisis management during health system shocks due to conflict and the importance of maximizing national ownership for sustainable outcomes.