Tag: finance for health

The Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation policy document does not sufficiently address access to healthcare for poorer people

The new policy paper of Minister Schreinemacher of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, “Doen waar Nederland goed in is” (“Doing what the Netherlands is good at”), is very much focused on Dutch business interests and seems to have insufficient attention for realising access to health care for poorer population groups. The Minister indicates that she wants to invest more in public-private collaborations in low- and middle-income countries, also in healthcare. As a result, there is a great risk that healthcare will become more commercial and therefore unaffordable for people with fewer financial resources. To provide good healthcare, the Minister should, instead, contribute to strengthening the capacity and financial resources in the public sector. 

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Wemos’ video nominated for the Hoogvlieger Award 2022

We are honored and proud that our video ‘Make pooling work for Covid-19 vaccines’ has been nominated for the Hoogvlieger Award 2022 (High Flyer Award) by the Expertise Centre for Humanitarian Communication! This Dutch award is given annually to the best (or most successful) campaign of a Dutch INGO, simultaneously with the ‘Fly in the Eye Award’ to the worst (or least successful) campaign of a Dutch INGO.

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Three ways to achieve sustainable financing for social health protection

By Mariëlle Bemelmans (director at Wemos) and Myria Koutsoumpa (global health advocate at Wemos)

At Wemos, we believe more in systems change than in addressing single-targeted issues to effectively enhance health equity. Therefore, we were delighted that the Belgian development agency Enabel – who focuses on (among others) health systems strengthening – invited us to speak at the ‘International conference on social health protection’ in Niamey, Niger (10-13 May). We shared our thoughts on sustainable financing for health and social protection with representatives from ten African countries, bi- and multilateral institutions, academic institutions and civil society actors.

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Launch of handbook on monetary policies for economic justice

On Monday 23 May we will launch the handbook on monetary policy that we developed with partners. It explains monetary policy to non-economists: how it interacts with fiscal policies; how mainstream economic thinking has influenced monetary policy making over the last decades; and what alternatives policy makers should explore to ensure that monetary policymaking is guided by principles of equity, well-being and human rights. 

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71th World Health Assembly of the WHO

Our appreciation of the AIV advice on the Dutch global health strategy

We are pleased with the sound advice from the Advisory Council on International Affairs (AIV) on the Dutch Global Health Strategy the Dutch government is developing. We do, however, see some points of attention. In our appreciation of the advice, we make suggestions to take along in the development. We want to ensure that the strategy is ambitious, fair and coherent, and that health as a human right takes precedence over political and economic interests.

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What we need for equitable access to healthcare: public financing for the public good

By Marco Angelo, global health advocate at Wemos

On World Health Day, we need to talk about solving a major threat for universal and equitable access to healthcare: commercialisation. Profit incentives have become dominant in health service delivery in many countries. A focus on profit makes these services too expensive for poorer populations and does not necessarily lead to addressing the most urgent medical needs. To achieve universal and equitable access, governments and multilateral organisations and funds should prioritise public financing of healthcare systems for the public good.

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Five years with the Global Financing Facility in Uganda: Results-Based Financing unpacked

Wemos has collaborated with the Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) and Uganda Debt Network (UDN) in a study on the progress of the Global Financing Facility (GFF) in Uganda. We specially looked into the implementation of Results-Based Financing in the Uganda Reproductive Maternal and Child Health Services Improvement Project (URMCHIP), of which the GFF is a contributor. We found that a human rights approach is central in the GFF’s partnership in this case, but also encountered challenges.

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ACT-A: put words into action to combat Covid-19

ACT-A, the global collaboration to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, can and must do more to effectively combat this international health crisis. It must use its leverage to significantly improve equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, and establish adequate funding of health systems in order to implement these commodities. Wemos fully supports the urgent recommendations on these matters of the Platform for Civil Society and Community Representatives to ACT-A. Also, we are proud that our global health advocate Amanda Banda was selected to be civil society representative to ACT-A’s Health Systems Connector.

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