HSG calling for commitment to evidence at UNGA74
As global leaders come together for the 74th UN General Assembly, a major focus will be the High-Level Meeting: ‘Universal Health Coverage: Moving Together to Build a Healthier World’ on 23 September. This is a global opportunity to mobilise the highest political support for the achievement of ‘health for all’ by 2030.
HSG will be participating in the High-Level Meeting and calling for governments and UN leaders to recognize that that evidence is a foundation of strong health systems required for Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
On 26th September, Health Systems Global (HSG) and the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (the Alliance), with the sponsorship of the Permanent Mission to the UN of the Government of Georgia, will be co-hosting the side event: ‘Universal Health Coverage – Unattainable Without Evidence.’
This side event, together with other national and international partners and members of HSG’s international network, will call on UN Member States and agencies to build a base of what works, and implemented strategies grounded in this knowledge.
Evidence must not only be produced through academic research; communities and health practitioners understand the contexts and realities of their health and well-being, and their knowledge and experiences must be at the heart of decision making. HSG will be calling for immediate commitment from policymakers to:
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Fund and support local and national social scientists to generate evidence for policies and programmes in their contexts.
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Policies and programmes should be monitored during implementation and rigorously analysed and evaluated to facilitate continuous learning of what is working and what isn’t.
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In all settings there must be a commitment to improving capacity to document, understand and learn from research and practice, especially where data is scarce and risks undermining the design, prioritization and delivery of effective policies and programs.
HSG will also be calling for governments and donors to recognise that health practitioners, policymakers, and researchers are at the frontline of finding solutions to health systems challenges and implementing change. UHC will not be possible if governments and donors do not invest in their training, networks and capacity, so they can generate and act on evidence together.
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There needs to be investment in the capacity of policymakers, researchers and practitioners to understand, create and share evidence through training and creating platforms for exchange and learning.
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Governments should prioritize health policy and systems research funding through minimum funding thresholds, and the routine assessment of the capacity for investments in and the use of health policy and systems research.
HSG’s advocacy messages are directly informed by society members through the recent membership advocacy consultation, and will also be promoted via a social media campaign in the lead up and during the week of 23rd September. HSG members and other stakeholders are encouraged to please look for, engage with and support the campaign on Twitter and Facebook, which will launch shortly.
Many thanks to those who expressed an interest in attending the HSG-Alliance side event on 26th September. We are no longer receiving expressions of interest to attend the side event. For further information about the side event, please contact HSGatUNGA74@gmail.com.
