Source · Select Committees · International Development Committee
Recommendation 7
7
At a time of heightened need, it is more important than ever that healthcare is...
Conclusion
At a time of heightened need, it is more important than ever that healthcare is provided in a way that uses stretched resources as efficiently as possible through integrating responses to multiple health challenges. As part of a global health 38 Covid-19 in developing countries: secondary impacts strategy, the FCDO should work with developing countries to reduce financial barriers to accessing healthcare for communities, prioritising low-cost approaches to lifesaving treatments and incorporating the feedback of communities more effectively into their response. Furthermore, the FCDO should advocate for the integration of the various streams of healthcare provision even more in its work with partner organisations to help accomplish an effective response to other diseases alongside covid-19 during the pandemic. (Paragraph 45) Economy and livelihoods
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The covid-19 pandemic has exposed weaknesses in health systems globally. This highlights the importance of the UK’s continued commitment to achieving Universal Health Coverage as part of our manifesto commitment to end preventable maternal, new-born 10 Eighth Special Report of Session 2019–21 and child deaths, and to protect people from health threats. This includes our support to strengthening health systems to provide quality essential services for all without financial hardship. We work to increase coordination around health system strengthening at the global and country level through UK positions on Global Health Initiatives and multilateral boards. for health and tackle inefficiencies and inequity within the health sector. For example, our investments to the Global Financing Facility, the World Health Organisation, the World Bank and the Global Health Initiatives enable technical assistance to countries to implement health financing reforms. To ensure coordination by multilateral organisations on health financing, the UK is engaged with the health financing accelerator as part of the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Wellbeing. The UK also advocates for and takes an integrated approach to strengthening health systems and ensuring efficient use of resources. For example, our funding to the Global Financing Facility supports multisectoral investment cases in partner countries, focused on strengthening essential health services, tackling malnutrition, and increasing the amount and efficiency of health funding. In some countries, such as Bangladesh, this has also included links to girls’ education. The Global Financing Facility is now planning new grants for essential services which will work alongside the rollout of covid-19 vaccines. The grants will be linked to World Bank loans for vaccine rollout but will be focused on strengthening the broader health systems required, coordinated by the ACT- Accelerator. The UK’s investments include approaches to incorporate community feedback. For example, support for community systems and responses is a key component of the Global Fund’s work on HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, aligning community systems and responses with formal health systems to maximise impact and to build resilience. To enable low-cost approaches to lifesaving treatments, the UK has supported work on market shaping to unlock price reductions and speed up the rollout of new health products. Since 2010, market shaping interventions have delivered at least a halving in the price of polio and pentavalent vaccines, antiretrovirals for HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria medicines and contraceptive implants. Our international covid-19 response has sought to balance the demands of responding to the pandemic while maintaining quality delivery of existing essential health services, including for disease prevention and control efforts on malaria. Funding to the Global Fund and Gavi the Vaccine Alliance keeps essential activities going, such as bed net distribution and immunisation. Examples of programmatic adaptations to mitigate the impact on other diseases include bed-nets to protect against malaria being distributed door-to-door to minimise the need for people to travel to central distribution points. Our country-based health experts have supported governments to adapt the delivery of essential services and make them covid secure.