Nossal in Advancing Health Systems for All at HSR2018

Nossal Institute for Global Health was proud to be involved in the recent Fifth Global Health Systems Research Symposium in the UK.

The Symposium brought up the main theme of Health Systems for All in the SDG Era and commemorated two significant global health events, i.e. the Alma Ata declaration and the start of the UK National Health Service. The symposium thus continues to stress on the importance of striving to achieve health goals with keeping in mind the critical values in inclusive health systems to attain equitable health. Further, the symposium brings forward the challenges and way forward to achieve the SDG

The Symposium brings together delegates from 146 countries, including scholars, policymakers, practitioners, community activists as well as the media partners. Oral and poster presentations along with special sessions were presented through more than 125 parallel sessions, including Nossal Institutes’ exhibition booth and skills-building session on health system strengthening. Nossalites and colleagues from the School of Population and Global Health of the University of Melbourne also delivered a number of oral and poster presentations on various topics including maternal and child health, NCD implementation research, people-centered mental health care as well as ethics in health systems and policy research.

Pictured: Peter Annear, Nossal's Unit Head Health Systems Governance & Financing facilitating the skills building session

We are also pleased to announce that during the Symposium, Nossal’s Director, Professor Barbara McPake was appointed as Vice-Chair of the Symposium’s Board.

Four sub-themes included in the Symposium – multisectoral action, community health systems, engaging the private sector and leaving no one behind – have advanced the discourse on the commitments to building more equitable, effective and resilient people-centered health systems through the advancement of multisectoral action including public-private partnerships. Community engagement in health policy and systems development was particularly stressed throughout the symposium including through engaging panel discussions as well as Photovoice exhibition held at the symposium. The Symposium has also successfully recognized health systems challenges and ways to move forward, including through cross-cutting themes and innovative knowledge translation and research approaches. The symposium also showcased the development in policy and systems thinking in health sector, emphasizing on the importance of community engagement and public-private partnership while acknowledging the challenges in the political economy contexts that surrounds health systems strengthening efforts. Furthermore, universal coverage was also the center of debates as part of actions to achieve the SDGs. Finally, as the symposium concluded and as was stressed in past symposiums, it was clear on the importance of people-centered health systems as the core commitment to achieve equitable health for all.

Pictured: Nossal's team of experts at HSR 2018