We have been organizing a range of seminars, workshops, and presentations.
Past Workshop: “Meeting Needs for Non-Communicable Disease Healthcare in LMICs” October 27-28, 2022
On October 27-28, 2022, together with colleagues from Erasmus University Rotterdam and the World Health Organization (WHO), the LCHE hosted a workshop on “Meeting Needs for Non-Communicable Disease Healthcare in LMICs” in Lausanne. The below highlights some background and the objectives of the workshop. The program for the workshop can be found here.
Background
Aging populations and rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) will continue to drive up demand for healthcare. Adapting and extending health systems to manage this demand is a major challenge for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). While WHO-sponsored protocols for disease screening and management provide valuable signposts, their impact is contingent on effective implementation and may be muted if many people seek healthcare for NCD-related complaints from providers operating outside of the public health system. Lack of comprehensive inclusion of primary care and medicines in health insurance benefit packages can push patients toward private providers who are not obliged to follow the protocols.
Coverage gaps for NCD-related health problems have negative consequences for the health and economic security of LMIC populations. Knowledge gaps impede the design of policies necessary to secure more effective and equitable disease screening and management.
Objectives
- Gather researchers and health system specialists working on NCD in LMICs.
- Review evidence on NCD healthcare demand and coverage of related costs in LMICs.
- Identify knowledge gaps about implementation and effects of policies that aim to address the coverage gaps.
- Explore relevance of specific purchasing arrangements for addressing the coverage gaps, with a focus on quality of care.
- Disseminate research findings to policymakers with aim of influencing policy agenda.
- Obtain feedback on research from policymakers with aim of developing research agenda to address knowledge gaps.