Years of Investments Finally Put Health Workers on the Global Stage

Sarah Dwyer — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 13:19:29 +0000

This post was originally published on the Huffington Post’s Social Entrepreneurship Blog.

For almost 10 years, I managed health programs in Africa, Asia, and South America that harnessed social marketing techniques to produce tangible benefits for poor consumers. Our programs made low-cost products such as condoms, contraceptives, and oral rehydration salts available at reduced, affordable prices. We worked mostly through the private sector and were proud of our bottom-line health impact. We didn’t think much about underlying health systems or how to improve them. And if we had, we probably would have dismissed health system strengthening as overly ambitious.

Author's name:

David J. Olson, guest blogger

Publication Date:

September 2013

Leading the Way: The Health Workforce's Role in Country Ownership

jennifer — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 18:52:32 +0000

Country ownership—defined by the Paris declaration on aid effectiveness and the Accra agenda for action—is achieved when countries exercise effective leadership over their development policies, strategies, and actions. This is particularly visible when countries then translate these policies into prioritized operational programs.

For example, Ethiopia—as well as Rwanda, Malawi, and others—has shown marked improvement in expanding health services to the population and deploying health workers to rural communities. It’s also important that countries coordinate aid levels in conjunction with other development resources—in dialogue with donors—and encourage civil society and private sector participation.

Author's name:

Mesrak Belatchew

Publication Date:

April 2011