Ahmad Zia Wahdat, PhD’s Post

Recognizing the evolving global dynamics of geo-political and socio-economic interests surrounding ongoing process of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body to draft and negotiate a Pandemic Agreement and the amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR-2005), @AfricaCDC, in collaboration with Ethiopia is convening a high-level strategic meeting to bolster common understanding and consolidate the continental negotiating position. This high-level gathering brings together Ministers of Health, Representatives from Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Geneva-based Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives to the AU, as a move to leverage political and strategic policy support within the AU frameworks to solidify Africa's stance on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response within the global health community. #equity #solidarity #socialjustice #fairness

This study has a lot of facts and stories to tell through its printed words and beyond. Our new (preprint) paper titled "Capturing sources of health system legitimacy in fragmented conflict zones under different governance models. A case study of northwest Syria". This study added a new dimension to health governance evaluation frameworks that goes beyond the principle dimensions to include legitimacy sources. In addition, the study created a framework to evaluate public health authorities' legitimacy and a Health Sector Legitimacy Index (HSLI) which is useful for fragmented conflict zones. We argue that using our new approach to capture sources of trust and legitimacy reveals a more granular perspective that is required for optimising health interventions and reveals important variations between the different models of governance that could guide the design of the health systems in conflict zones so that they can generate the cooperative behaviour needed for their efficiency and sustainability. In addition, policymakers, including development donors, can use this study to enhance the ability of health systems in conflict areas to exercise civic virtue and enhance social justice and thus their ability to play a peace-generating role rather than being an instrument of war.   #health #governance #Legitimacy #topdown #bottomup #legality #justification #consent #performance Thank you, Rim Turkmani, Zaki Mehchy, Mazen Gharibah and Preeti Patel, for your valuable participation in this work. https://lnkd.in/dCmYSySS

The OLACEFS- #EUROSAI Joint conference continued with a presentation by Mauricio Torres, Comptroller General of the State of the Republic of Ecuador. He spoke about the results of the OLACEFS #CoordinatedAudit on socioeconomic aid during the #COVID19 pandemic in follow-up to the #Agenda2030. The coordinated audit looked at 4 key topics: (1) Preparedness of states in order to take care of health emergencies; (2) planning for the execution of socio-economic assistance programs; (3) implementation and execution of institutional channels to support the most vulnerable, and (4) the evaluation of states and spread of information to citizens to know how budgets were spent and the impact of the programs. Learn more about the coordinated audit here: https://buff.ly/45ZAeCx #EUROSAI #OLACEFS #AuditsforResilientFutures #ClimateChange #NaturalDisasters #publichealth #resiliency #SAI #INTOSAI

As countries gradually progress towards offering Universal Health Coverage (UHC) to their populations, there isn't an established way of deciding on tax-financed benefits. Lobbying by interest groups, pressures from influential donors with narrowly defined interests, and poorly informed political prioritisation are often the dominant mechanisms by which this is done. This morning, I came across a description of how the beautiful (https://lnkd.in/gVapV_hQ) West African nation of Liberia, with its rich history and culture (the Glossy Ibis, shown below, is one of the many birds seen in Liberia), has systematically gone about doing this using Disease Control Priorities for Developing Countries (https://www.dcp-3.org/) as the base document. As the paper by Professor Ala Alwan and others (https://lnkd.in/gm3vrnCJ) describes in detail, the design of the package was based on a prioritisation of essential services, which, in turn, was "based on evidence on disease burden, cost-effectiveness, financial risk, equity, budget impact, and feasibility of implementation". In my view, there is much for our state governments to learn from their approach as we think about our respective pathways towards UHC.

Learn more about the Research for Health Systems Strengthening in Syria Policy Fellowship today at 6pm (Syria) 4pm (UK)!

👋 We are excited to introduce Osama H., our newest fellow who provides insights on navigating the intersection of the Humanitarian, Health, and Development sectors for the strengthening of health systems. 🤝 Osama highlights that limited involvement of development actors results in reluctance among humanitarian actors and donors to strengthen health systems capacity, resulting often in short-term interventions. 💪 To address this, the humanitarian health cluster must include foresight capacity and long-term strategic planning, collaborative assessments, and involvement of multiple stakeholders in early recovery efforts. 🌍 Let's work towards an integrated Humanitarian -Development and Health approach that not only is accountable to temporal needs, but also to collective future-oriented goals. #humanitarianaid #development #healthsystems #foresight #peace 👉 https://shorturl.at/wBEQ9

Pleased to share that my final scholarly paper from MSc in Global Health has been published. In this paper, we explored strategies for improving the health system in Afghanistan 🇦🇫. As we all know, Afghanistan faces ongoing humanitarian crises. The healthcare system isn’t functioning properly. There has been an increase in #tuberculosis, #malaria, #measles, and other infections. Poverty and food insecurity are on the rise — the country need urgent support from international communities to address the needs of the population. Some of the strategies we discussed in the paper are also applicable to other conflict settings. Please read and let us know what you think. Link: https://lnkd.in/gsfyFMxM #globalhealth #afghanistan #healthsystemsstrengthening

📣 #JustPublished📣 The global crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic revealed critical gaps in health emergency preparedness worldwide. Our new analysis draws on experiences in Asia and the Pacific, and examines the elements of health system readiness in terms of efficiency, surge capacity, and access to medical countermeasures and funding. It also highlights the need to strengthen data infrastructure and sharing mechanisms for a robust emergency response. Read and download it here. 📘 📊 👉 https://ow.ly/9Z5N50QPQ2Z with Abdul Abiad, Minhaj Mahmud, Arief Ramayandi, Dennis Sorino, Daniel Suryadarma

The Choice Agenda March 26 webinar: Decolonizing Global Public Health: Exploring the How, from Now til as Long as it Takes Date: Tuesday, March 26. 2024 Time: 9:00 AM ET to 10:30 AM ET Register for the webinar here: https://lnkd.in/gPjgEvxa An interactive and thought-provoking discussion, this webinar will critically examine a trend of historical legacies and power dynamics which if not checked, continue to shape global public health. Join us to engage in deep reflection and dialogue to understand how colonialism, imperialism, and other systems of oppression have influenced the development and implementation of public health policies, practices, and research methodologies. We’ll further explore and contextualize strategies and approaches for decolonizing public health to promote equity and justice. Speakers: · Preethi John, University College London · Bridget Malewezi, Mothers2mothers Malawi · Mareli Claassens, University of Namibia · Julieta Kavetuna, Member of Parliament, Namibia Moderator: · Jesse B. Bump, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health #decolonization #decolonize #publichealth #webinar #thechoiceagenda

Conflict amplifies health care delays, especially for the most vulnerable: children. Prior research has shown: across conflicts in Africa, infant deaths due to conflict - when blocked from accessing health care and nutrition - surpass all other deaths from direct violence at a staggering ratio of 3:1. On November 28th, Muso will present findings from one of the largest Randomized Controlled Trials conducted in Bankass, Mali at the 3rd International Conference on Public Health In Africa, providing critical insight on how to ensure care reaches children and communities in conflict settings. #HEALTHCANTWAIT #CPHIA2023