Strengthening Health Systemsin the time of COVID-19

Infopoint virtual conference - 28 May, 2020

Jan PAEHLER, DEVCO B4 Health Team

• The World Health Assembly urges Member States to provide support to developing countries

and countries with economies in transition if they so request in the building, strengthening and

maintenance of the public health capacities required under the International Health Regulations

(2005)

• On health, we will work for more effective prevention, detection and responses to global

pandemics. Global Strategy for the EU’s Foreign and Security Policy (2016)

• The EU and its Member States will continue to support partner countries in their efforts to build

strong, good-quality and resilient health systems, by providing equitable access to health

services and universal health coverage, as well as continue promoting cross-sectoral initiatives at

international, regional and local levels and will put the strengthening of horizontal health

systems at the core of health development programming. Consensus on Development (2017)

• “Universal health coverage and health security are cousins—two sides of the same coin…

Outbreaks are inevitable, but epidemics are not. Strong health systems are our best defence to

prevent disease outbreaks from becoming epidemics.” Dr Tedros, ED, WHO

Health security and Universal Health Coverage

Towards UHC and resilient societies

Governance Financing Resources Services Results Benefits

UNIVERSAL

HEALTH

COVERAGE:

-Equity in health

-Health security

-Social protection

Hu

man

Deve

lop

men

t

Resilient society

Trust

Peaceful society

Inclusive growth

Protect human rights

& Promote Rule of law

Towards UHC and resilient societies

Governance

Involvement

Intelligence

Choice

Oversight

Protect human rights

& Promote Rule of law

Financing

Government

Users

Global funds

Resources

Health

workforce

Drugs,

vaccines

Equipment

Information

Bilateral funds

Services Results Benefits

Availability &

Readiness

Quality

Safety

Continuity

Increased

coverage

Lowered risks

Decreased

prevalence

Greater

preparedness

UNIVERSAL

HEALTH

COVERAGE:

-Equity in health

-Health security

-Social protection

Hu

man

Deve

lop

men

t

Resilient society

Trust

Peaceful society

Inclusive growth

Other sectors

• Improve coordination of efforts to support the most vulnerable countries,

and promote an efficient humanitarian-development nexus;

• Strengthen pandemic preparedness and response capacity while

mitigating unintended health effects of the outbreak response

• Protect and support the delivery of essential, lifesaving health services

alongside basic commodities and support the retention of health

workers in order to remain focused on areas of priority need;

• Strengthen regional surveillance;

• Invest in research on new diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines,

• Maximise synergies between the health and the socio-economic

response.

Adjusting priorities to the COVID-19 crisis

• We support the country response to the outbreak e.g. in Niger where Team Europe – EU

and BTC, supports an increased intensive care capacity and better integrating emergency

responses in the health system in the long term

• We support the delivery of essential care for other conditions e.g. in Libya where we will

ensure that primary health care services will operate

• We support strengthening the surveillance and response chain, e.g. in the African Union

where the ECDC strengthens the capacity of the African CDC, or in ASEAN countries where

Team Europe articulates regional support through WHO with MS country interventions (KfW,

AFD)

Keeping essential services operational

Surveillance and Preparedness

Alert ResponseEpidemic declared

endedAfter Action

Review

Improved surveillance and Preparedness

Nr of cases

Governance Financing Resources Services Results Benefits

• We support the protection of health care staff by

providing PPE and ensuring our budget support

operations enable countries to keep paying health

workers

• We support country supplies systems, e.g in DR

Congo where our support to ASRAMES in partnership

with the Global Fund keeps the supply chain

operational

• #UnitedAgainstCoronavirus: We responded with

one voice to the WHO call to Accelerate Access to

COVID-19 Tools, by leveraging pledges from partners

around the world to avail diagnostics, therapeutics

and vaccines against COVID-19, and strengthen

health systems to roll them out as public goods.

Ensuring resources remain available to all

Governance Financing Resources Services Results Benefits

Further strengthening health financing

In the poorest countries patients still bear the largest

burden of healthcare costs

• We help mobilize more money for health e.g. in

Ethiopia where our public finance programme

quickly channeled emergency funding for the

immediate response, and where our active

engagement with the GFF permits essential care

to be delivered to mothers and children. All join to

reduce out of pocket payments by patients

• We help deliver better health for the money,

e.g. in Afghanistan where our engagement with

the Sehatmandi fund supports pooling all donors

funding and deliver a higher quality care package

Total health expenditure in low-income countries

Governance Financing Resources Services Results Benefits

Governance: UHC is a political choice

• We engage our dialogue on the governance of

social sectors to ensure UHC becomes a right,

e.g. in Madagascar our Delegation works to

integrate the COVID-19 response into a

programme that articulates action in health –

health security and UHC, social protection and

education. In Tunisia we will ensure health

security becomes part of the Dialogue Societal

• At the global level, we reaffirmed our support to

the WHO, including for its Global Action Plan

for healthy lives and wellbeing for all. We engage

as Team Europe in the governance mechanisms

of the GHIs — Global Fund, Gavi and GFF

Governance Financing Resources Services Results Benefits

EU led COVID-19 Resolution, sponsored by 145 Member States:

• OP7.5 Maintain the continued functioning of the health system in all relevant aspects […] necessary

for an effective public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other ongoing epidemics,

and the uninterrupted and safe provision of population and individual level services

• OP8.2 Work collaboratively at all levels to develop, test, and scale-up production of safe, effective,

quality, affordable diagnostics, therapeutics, medicines and vaccines for the COVID-19 response,

including existing mechanisms for voluntary pooling and licensing of patents to facilitate

timely, equitable and affordable access to them

Europe's convening power at work

• Sometimes it takes a crisis to bring people together (C. Michel)

#UnitedAgainstCoronavirus: The crisis has reaffirmed Europe’s

commitment to partnership and multilateralism, and its convening power

• We want to exit this crisis stronger, more robust, in a better position to tackle

the challenges of tomorrow (D. Sassoli)

20%+ of EU aid to human development including health security: While

all EU Delegations engage in the immediate response, an increasing number

considers strengthening the health system building upon LRRD experience

• We want to remain a learning organization

Because it is the key to building resilient health systems

Conclusion

Thank you