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A new report has found that the important role of ministers and ministries of health, especially in low- and middle-income countries, has been overlooked in efforts to strengthen health systems in their respective countries. The report found that ministers of health face multiple challenges: advocating for resources within government; working across government to promote health in all policies; and working with a growing number of national and international organizations and donors to align their interests with national health goals and realities. Their traditionally low status and influence within cabinets has weakened their bargaining power for resources and their capacity to play their critical roles as stewards of the people’s health resources and assure strong health systems in these increasingly complex environments. Because the effectiveness of individual leaders is closely related to the availability of institutional support for their efforts, ministers need access to increased financial, human and political support at the highest levels to assure the health of their populations and contribute to global health.
The report, Supporting Ministerial Health Leadership: A Strategy for Health Systems Strengthening, is based on research and interviews with 24 ministers and former ministers and 20 other global health leaders who interact with them frequently, conducted in an effort to best understand the challenges they face, the resources at their disposal, and their thoughts on what additional resources might enhance their personal effectiveness and that of their ministries. The report was written by Francis Omaswa, MD, Executive Director, The African Center for Global Health and Social Transformation (ACHEST) and Jo Ivey Boufford, MD, President, The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) with generous support from The Rockefeller Foundation, a leader in global health issues.
To view the overview, please click here
The report offers seven action items geared toward building a systematic and sustained program of support for health ministries. Recommendations and proposals provided address:
“To successfully meet these objectives, the important role of ministries and their partners must be recognized, and a systematic and sustained program of support at country, regional, and global levels is needed to assure that ministries can fulfill their unique role — assuring the conditions in which their populations can be as healthy as they can be,” said Dr. Omaswa. “This can only be achieved through effective stewardship and governance of all four elements of health systems: the personal health care delivery system, the population health services system, and the health research system, all supported by a policy environment that promotes health in all policies.”
“Though country needs will vary and specific strategies for action must therefore differ, there are universal functions that must be performed by government and their ministries of health directly or through the work of others, and they need to be strong partners to align the interests of the multiple government agencies and non-governmental actors who need to work together to produce conditions for health and implement country health plans,” said Dr. Bouffford.
“While the stewardship function appears in every conceptual model of health systems, very little has been done to strengthen the ministries of health, which are the central institutions responsible for stewardship of health systems at the country level,” said Ariel Pablos-M??ndez, MD, MPH, Managing Director, The Rockefeller Foundation. “This report is an effort to address the gaps in our understanding of the roles ministries play, their needs, and the challenges they face, so that they can be better addressed.”
Posted on May 18, 2010
Contact:
Andrew J. Martin
Director of Communications
The New York Academy of Medicine
1216 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10029
212-822-7285
amartin@nyam.org
Reporters: to arrange interviews with NYAM medical and urban health experts, contact
Andrew J. Martin, Director of Communications
212-822-7285 / amartin@nyam.org
The 2012-2013 Duncan Clark Lecture - The Affordable Care Act: An Insider’s View
Featured Speaker: Sherry Glied, PhD, former Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
November 19, 2012 - The NYAM Section on Health Care Delivery welcomes Sherry Glied, PhD, former Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, who will deliver the 2012-2013 Duncan Clark Lecture on "The Affordable Care Act: An Insider's View."
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The New York Academy of Medicine with support from the New York State Heath Foundation released a new report, Federal Health Care Reform in New York State: A Population Health Perspective.
This report identifies opportunities that build on both the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act (ACA) and New York’s ongoing efforts toward improving the health of its 19 million residents.
Read press release
Read report
