How can public finance contribute to equitable and strong health systems?

How can public finance contribute to equitable and strong health systems? What can we learn from the World Bank Group’s Covid-19 response and recovery plans? Find out at our Civil Society Policy Forum session on October 6, 2021 (16-17.30 CET), co-organised by Wemos and eight partner organisations.

With our session ‘Building Back Better Health systems: lessons from the World Bank Group’s Covid-19 Response and Recovery Plans’ – organised ahead of the World Bank’s Annual Meetings 2021 – we want to facilitate a dialogue between civil society, policymakers and World Bank staff on the lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic, to build back better more resilient healthcare systems.

Wemos’ global health advocate Marco Angelo will moderate the session. Four panelists will bring examples from Africa and Europe on how different healthcare systems responded to the pandemic:

• Christoph Kurowski (Global Lead for Health Financing at the World Bank Group) will discuss the World Bank Group’s view of future perspectives for sustainable health financing and resilient health systems.
• Rossella De Falco (GI ESCR) will talk about how the privatisation of healthcare negatively affected the response to Covid-19 in Italy.
• Allana Kembabazi (ISER) will talk about lessons learned from the World Bank Group’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic in Uganda.
• Els Torreele (UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose)will talk about future perspectives on healthcare systems financing and delivery, also referring to her experience in the WHO Council on the Economics of Health for All.

Marco Angelo: “We want to discuss which country pandemic responses worked, and which didn’t work, and how we can work together. Despite our different backgrounds, all the panelists in the session have one thing in common: the belief that public financing and public healthcare are essential to achieve equitable, sustainable, and universal access to healthcare.”

Civil Society Policy Forum session: ‘Building Back Better Health systems: lessons from the World Bank Group’s Covid-19 Response and Recovery Plans’
Date and time: October 6, 2021 (16-17.30 CET)
Co-organisers: Afrodad, Akina Mama wa Africa, DAWN, Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Eurodad, Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER), Oxfam, Society for International Development (SID), and Wemos.

Watch the session’s recording on the website of the World Bank. There you also find other sessions’ recordings and more information.

Recommendations for IDA20: health security & equity are a public priority

We recently published a new position paper, which includes recommendations for IDA20, the International Development Association’s 20th replenishment. IDA20’s goal is to support countries in their recovery from the Covid-19 crisis and transition to green, resilient, and inclusive development. Read more about our new paper ‘Health security & equity: a public priority – position paper on the IDA20 policy framework from a health perspective’.