Call for 2 IHP internships (2020) The weekly International Health Policies (IHP) newsletter  is a flagship (knowledge management) activity of the IHP network, funded by DGD. The network aims to “empower committed groups of global health experts based in the South through innovative collaborative models allowing them to have greater control on ...

For reasons largely beyond my control, my life and career path took me back to one of the countries belonging to the Northern Triangle  in Central America, Honduras, and a new home in Mexico City. I am perfectly aware of where I live and work, in the most violent region of the world. As I landed in Tegucigalpa, recently, I realized I hadn’t si...

Almost five years of continuous conflict in “fragile” Yemen have left a devastating impact at all levels. State institutions are severely weakened, public services collapsed, living conditions became miserable and as media headlines tell you, my country now faces nationwide poverty, epidemics and a failing healthcare system. As is often the ...

Drug procurement is “big money”. Naturally information follows money. But information also enables negotiations. This is particularly vital if you are a health ministry official trying to negotiate prices of medicines based on their patent status while procuring drugs. Although it exists, information around if and where a specific drug has b...

The importance and efficacy of community-based healthcare workers is a familiar refrain for those working in public health in LMICs. In South Africa, the efficacy of such workers is continuously acknowledged and shown, but unfortunately also systematically undermined by a fragmented state approach to these workers. Such a fragmented approach mea...

Digital technologies are often embraced as the solution to global challenges within health and development, but rampant commercialisation and weak regulation challenge the ideal of digital public goods capable of reducing inequalities. Techno-optimism Many express confidence that digital technologies available through mobile phone, tablets and ...

As I flew out from the Himalayan foothills into the country of a thousand hills, I thought about India and Rwanda. 1.3 billion fewer people live in Rwanda than in India. Rwanda is 125 times smaller than India. Rwandan Air flies to India. Rwanda is home to many Indians. The 2019 Women Leaders in Global Health conference   (WLGH 2019) was held i...

Attending the 4th Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement Information (PPRI) Conference in Vienna last month (23-24 October), allowed the first author of this blog to revisit issues surrounding the unequal access to medicines, from the perspective of a health economist. Further discussion with the second author, a pharmacist highly concerned by...

  Last week, I attended the World health Summit (WHS) in Berlin, Germany, with 2400 participants and 300 speakers. With the abundance of exciting sessions scheduled over the three days (27-29 October), I was spoiled for choice. After some reflection, I managed to make up my mind, though, on which ones to attend. I didn’t end up disappointed! I...