Expert InsightPrimary Health Care – Time for action!By Judith Shamian | September 25, 2015As one of the leading groups embracing the Alma Ata Declaration for Primary Health Care 40 years ago, nurses have been calling for strong primary health care for decades. Dr. Judith Shamian, President of the International Council of Nurses (ICN), shares her perspective on the impact of the Ebola outbreak and calls for action on the need to re-conceptualize primary health care systems with focus on the centrality of the healthcare workforce.
PHC in the NewsIt's time to better understand what makes primary health care workBy Dana Hovig, Tim Evans, and Edward Kelley | September 25, 2015Recent crises, including the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, have been wake-up calls: too many primary health care systems are under-resourced and fragmented, leaving countries unprepared to reach everyone with needed health services. Read more for a call to action from leadership of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank Group, and the World Health Organization on the need for better measurement to guide meaningful improvements in primary health care systems.
Expert InsightA transformation in health debatesBy Jasmine Whitbread | September 25, 2015The global health agenda has often suffered from fragmentation, taking a siloed approach to particular diseases and interventions. During the Ebola crisis, we saw that underfunded, fragmented and understaffed health systems can be quickly overwhelmed, allowing an outbreak to escalate into an epidemic. Jasmine Whitbread, CEO of Save the Children International, shares insight into building strong health systems so that all can have access to high-quality health care.
PHC in the NewsPress Release: New partnership to help countries close gaps in primary health careBy Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, World Bank Group, and World Health Organization | September 26, 2015On September 26, 2015 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank Group, and the World Health Organization launched a collaboration to strengthen primary health care and advance progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.
Expert InsightThe far-reaching impact of strengthening primary health careBy Suzanne Ehlers and Rosemary Mburu | September 29, 2015With the launch of the new Sustainable Development Goals, health and development experts around the world are reflecting on what it will take to accomplish them. As a global community, this is a unique opportunity to think carefully about what works and what doesn’t, and to use the new goals to redouble our efforts to support programmes, solutions, and systems that work. Suzanne Ehlers, President and CEO of Population Action International, and Rosemary Mburu, Executive Director of World AIDS Campaign International, weigh in on the value of high-performing primary health care systems and call on country decision-makers to enact policies and budgets that lead to measureable improvements in primary health care.
PHC in the NewsDear primary health systems, it's time for your checkupBy Michael Igoe | October 22, 2015What makes primary health care work? How can systems better function as a whole? Atul Gawande and Chris Elias speak with Devex about the challenges primary health care leaders face around the world, and how PHCPI is digging deep to understand these difficult questions.
Expert InsightAchieving Global Health Goals by Strengthening Primary Health CareBy Michael R. Kidd | October 27, 2015Last month, world leaders came together to adopt the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)--a new global development agenda that sets ambitious targets, such as eliminate poverty, achieve gender equality and end hunger globally. Following the launch of the SDGs, World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) President Michael Kidd weighs in on the potential of primary health care systems to support the achievement of the health-related SDG and deliver quality health care to populations worldwide. He also proposes new indicators that, if comprehensively measured, can show us the strength of primary health care in countries around the world and help us understand how to further improve our systems.
Data InsightPHCPI Data Insight: Health WorkforceBy Chloe Lanzara | November 10, 2015Imagine traveling an hour to reach a health facility, only to realize that no doctors are there. Or taking medication for a month, to later find out that you received the wrong diagnosis. Imagine being a doctor at a clinic so busy you see over 40 patients a day, and aren't able to give each one the full attention they need. Good health workers are the cornerstone to strong health systems. PHCPI investigates how we can better understand what makes health care providers most effective for the patients they serve.
Expert InsightPrimary health care and the Sustainable Development GoalsBy Luisa M Pettigrew, Jan De Maeseneer, Maria-Inez Padula Anderson, Akye Essuman, Michael R. Kidd, and Andy Haines | December 1, 2015When supported by strong public health policies and with aligned efforts across social, economic, and political domains, primary health care has a central role in achievement of sustainable development. Originally published in The Lancet, this commentary explores the integral role that strong primary health care systems will play in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and Universal Health Coverage.
Expert InsightQuality: A Catalyst for PHC-Driven UHCBy Shams Syed | December 14, 2015What is a young mother looking for when seeking health care for her child, her elderly father or herself? Quality primary health care. Quality can drive the necessary convergence of the current global dialogue on universal health coverage (UHC) and primary health care (PHC), as a sharp entry point to catalyzing change at the frontline of service delivery. In this blog, Dr. Shams Syed of the World Health Organization reflects on the need for action to support countries in utilizing PHC performance as a key driver in achieving universal health coverage.
Data InsightPHCPI Data Insight: Delivering Continuity in PHCBy Erin Fenton | December 15, 2015When you go to a health facility, are you able to see the same doctor or nurse as the last time you visited? If you see a specialist, do they use information from your primary care doctor to inform your diagnosis and treatment? Are you referred to a higher-level facility, if necessary, for follow-up care? For some of us, the answer is yes. But for too many of us, the answer is no. Read on to find out why continuity of care is a critically important, but poorly understood, role of PHC systems.
Expert InsightUniting Behind Universal Health CoverageBy President Jim Yong Kim | December 16, 2015At the Conference on Universal Health Coverage in the New Development Era, which took place in Tokyo, Japan on December 16, 2015, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim shared his insight on the global momentum around universal health coverage and highlighted new partnerships, including the Primary Health Care Performance Initiative, that can work to accelerate progress towards the achievement of universal health coverage goals. Read on for President Kim's full speech.
Expert InsightAn Evolving Global Movement Toward UHC: From Financing to Primary Care-focused DeliveryBy Gina Lagomarsino | December 17, 2015Commemerating the recent second annual UHC day, read on to understand how the UHC movement evolved from a nascent movement to a global force over the course of a few short years and learn why high-quality PHC is one of the best bets for achieving UHC goals.
ArticleNew Year, New Primary Health Care ChallengesBy Chloe Lanzara and Erin Fenton | January 29, 2016Countries around the globe have committed to implementing reforms to achieve universal health coverage. Now what? Read on for a snapshot of what the Primary Health Care Performance Initiative (PHCPI) has planned in 2016 to support the global movement toward UHC through better primary health care.
Data InsightPHCPI Data Insight: Primary Health Care SpendingBy Federica Secci | April 4, 2016Why is it important for countries to track and understand primary health care spending? Read on as Federica Secci, Health Specialist at the World Bank Group, discusses how accurate primary health care spending data is critical to improving systems and meeting Universal Health Coverage goals.
ArticleClosing the Primary Health Care Measurement GapBy Chloe Lanzara and Meredith Kimball | May 11, 2016Strengthening primary health care (PHC) is essential to achieve universal health coverage and the health-related Sustainable Development Goals, and PHC system strengthening requires good measurement. The PHC Measurement for Improvement Collaborative, launched in April 2016 in Accra, Ghana by the Joint Learning Network for Universal Health Coverage and the Primary Health Care Performance Initiative, will co-develop practical tools and approaches – drawing on collective country experiences—to support country policymakers, health system managers, and frontline providers to effectively use data for PHC improvement.
ArticleCritical shortages of personnel and data jeopardize primary health care systemsBy Elisabeth Tadiri and | June 8, 2016Primary health care is one of the most cost-effective ways to equitably reduce morbidity and mortality and improve population health, but the realization of these potential benefits is dependent on having adequate numbers of competent, motivated human resources to deliver primary health care services. Read on for more information on the central role of health workers in achieving the health-related Sustainable Development Goals and opportunities to strengthen the health workforce.
Data InsightPHCPI Data Insight: Ending Preventable Maternal and Child DeathsBy Chloe Lanzara | June 16, 2016Despite progress made in the last two decades, maternal and child mortality rates remain unacceptably high around the globe. Read on to learn more about the role of strong primary health care systems in ending preventable maternal and child deaths and how more and better data can help the global community to ensure healthier lives for all women and children, everywhere.
PHC in the NewsSpread the Word on Universal Health Coverage Day: Digital ToolkitBy PHCPI Partnership | December 8, 2016On Monday, December 12, the world recognize Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Day. Share the videos and graphics below to spread the word about why primary health care is the fastest, cheapest, most efficient way to reach UHC.
PHC in the NewsPrimary Health Care as a Foundation for Strengthening Health Systems in Low- and Middle-Income CountriesBy PHCPI Partnership | December 19, 2016The PHCPI partnership recently published an article in the Journal of General Internal Medicine underscoring why primary health care is essential to building strong health systems. The article gives insights into the core quality functions of primary health care, and provides a framework for understanding primary health care system performance.
PHC in the NewsCreating a new language for primary health care around the worldBy Jim Sachetta | January 24, 2017The Ariadne Labs Primary Health Care team has been working with countries around the world on how to improve primary health care, a cornerstone of achieving universal health coverage.
PHC in the NewsKey Steps Toward Use of Data for PHC Improvement: Outcomes of the PHCPI Collaborative 3rd MeetingBy Allyson English | March 16, 2017The JLN Primary Health Care Improvement Collaborative met in Kigali, Rwanda to outline strategies to address priority measurement areas and work towards the creation of a practical measurement toolkit.
Expert InsightFive Country Insights on Using Data for Improvement in Primary Health CareBy Dr. Kamaliah Mohamad Noh and Chloe Lanzara | November 15, 2017The 30 practitioners from 13 countries across Latin America, Africa and Asia who gathered in Hanoi, Vietnam this September convened in the pursuit of a shared goal: achieving universal health coverage for their country’s citizens through strengthening their primary health care systems.
PHC in the NewsMeasuring What Matters: Primary Health Care as a Foundation of UHCBy PHCPI Partnership | December 7, 2017Join us for an interactive community consultation on measurement for improvement in quality primary health care. We want to hear your perspectives and ideas!
PHC in the NewsUHC2030 welcomes PHCPI as a new related initiativeBy UHC2030 | March 14, 2018Executive Director Beth Tritter sits down with UHC2030 to discuss PHCPI's motivation for joining, and the value of the UHC2030 agenda.