Social and Behavior Change and Health Systems Strengthening
Health system strengthening (HSS) comprises the strategies, responses, and activities that are designed to sustainably improve country health system performance. Social and behavior change (SBC) programming is an approach that applies systematic insights about why people behave the way they do, and how behaviors change, to effect positive outcomes for and by specific groups of people. But what is the role of SBC within HSS programs? This document identifies the ways in which the behavior of health system actors has a direct impact on the strength of the overall health system and on health outcomes. It highlights how SBC may be integrated into HSS programs to strengthen HSS program implementation and measurement, and improve the system’s ability to support the practice of healthy behaviors.
Implementation Guide: Strategy for Sustainable Health Systems Strengthening
This implementation guide provides details on how project teams and local partners may implement the various approaches contained in the strategy, including tools and templates that may be adapted to country and activity contexts.
Blueprint for Global Health Resilience
As the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated, much of our global health work is interconnected. Disruptions caused by one event impact the delivery of essential services across the health sector and beyond. Over the past few months, experts from across USAID’s Global Health Bureau worked together to develop a “Blueprint for Global Health Resilience”, which demonstrates the interconnections both within our global health programs and across the Agency. This document outlines several "lessons learned" from COVID-19 and past outbreaks and other system shocks that impact healthcare delivery.
Climate Change Impacts on Human Health and the Health Sector
Climate change is threatening the sustainability of health systems performance and development goals through increased pressures from rising heat, extreme weather events, droughts, shifts in duration and prevalence of diseases, and the potential for increased novel diseases being introduced. Health systems need to act now by promoting and building capacity for effective and iterative risk management across all levels, fostering multi-sectoral engagement, and identifying actions and investments over the short- and long-term to increase system resilience.
Considerations to Integrate Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation into Health System Programming
Climate change is threatening the sustainability of health systems performance and development goals. Integrating climate change adaptation into development work does not require implementing development activities in a completely new way. It requires considering the climate impacts and identifying opportunities to adapt and transform as necessary. Health systems strengthening activities should include climate considerations by promoting and building capacity for effective and iterative risk management across all levels, fostering multi-sectoral engagement, and identifying actions and investments over the short- and long-term to increase system resilience.
Recommendations for Strengthening Health Systems during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond
Health systems in low resource settings continue to be severely strained by the COVID-19 pandemic. These systems are already fraught by a high incidence of non-communicable and infectious diseases, an inability to adequately provide high quality primary and specialty health care services, and the escalating costs associated with providing health services. These factors continue to undermine access to equitable and quality essential health services, and place further strain on human and financial resources in the health sector. This guide provides a resource for planning and implementing support to host country health system responses. The identified recommendations serve as a starting point, meant to be tailored to the local country context and changing circumstances based on the intersection of the COVID-19 trends, disruption to essential services, and level of vaccinated population.