Special Collection: Health Systems Recovery in the Context of COVID-19 and Protracted Conflict
The journal Frontiers in Public Health has published a Special Collection on Health Systems Recovery in the Context of COVID-19 and Protracted Conflict, together with an accompanying e-book. The collection has been co-edited by IANPHI and the World Health Organization (Drs. Zsuzsanna Jakab and Sohel Saikat).
This unique operationally focused collection of 24 articles, including its overarching editorial, represents evidence and learning from more than 60 countries. It harnesses the frontline experience of actors whose primary responsibility was the development and delivery of COVID-19 responses and the maintenance of essential health services.
The collection consolidates global perspectives, experiences and evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic to inform global to national level policy, planning and practice to “build back better”, fairer and more resilient health systems.
Some key takeaways from the collection include:
- Recovery plans focusing on health systems resilience for public health are essential. Without focused and timely efforts to recover and actions to build the resilience of health systems, we cannot expect improved performance when the next emergency strikes.
- When health is at risk, everything is at risk. The highly successful multisectoral collaborations established during the pandemic must be sustained to contribute to longer term health systems resilience.
- Public trust or mistrust in governments and health authorities defines the successes and failures in emergency management.
- Countries require substantial health system reforms with a focus on primary health care and addressing foundational gaps in essential public health functions to make them more efficient, effective and resilient, ensure economic resilience and socioeconomic development. This is as much about investment as it is about making smarter, better choices.
Please read and share this important collection.