DEP AR TMENT F OR INTERNATIONAL T RADE
Health Systems Strengthening and the UK
Health systems have adapted in response to new diseases, innovations, societal expectations and technological interventions for centuries. As the world emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, there is renewed effort by developed and developing countries to adapt their health systems again, learning the lessons of this pandemic. The pandemic has not only threatened the sustainability of established health systems, but crucially the health- related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including the target to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030 (SDG 3.8). Monitoring progress towards
achieving UHC focuses on the proportion of a population that can access essential quality health services; and how the burden of personal health costs can be reduced to protect households against financial hardship. Achieving this requires all countries to continue
features of twentieth century medicine was the fall in premature death rates due to infection, following the introduction of antibiotic therapies in the 1940s. Yet, as one risk is reduced, others have emerged. Health services across the globe have worked
Any array of initiatives that improves one or
more of the functions of the health systems and that leads to better health through improvements in access, coverage, quality or efficiency.
to strengthen their health systems. The WHO defines health system strengthening as “any array of initiatives that improves one or more of the functions of the health systems and that leads to better health through improvements in access, coverage, quality or efficiency.” The pandemic has shown research, innovation and its translation through to products, services and clinical practice are key to achieving continuous health improvements. The rapid pace in biomedical and technological innovations has transformed the lives of many people. The ability to research and deploy C-19 vaccinations is a good example from the UK. However, globally, one of the defining
10 UKHEALTHCARE P A VILION. COM
to transform their systems to respond to the changes in disease burden from infection to non-communicable disease (NCD) as causes for premature death or disability. In 2020, WHO reported the top three causes of death globally are: Ischaemic heart disease, stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. These causes of death remain the same, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, and have even been exacerbated. In early 2020, health systems rapidly pivoted and managed patients with Covid-19, through information and the reorganisation of services to treat patients suffering with
the effects of the virus; and with Governments issuing urgent public health messages to underline the importance of transmission control. For many countries, this manifested in lockdowns, that disrupted regular health treatment, impacting, in particular, the diagnosis, treatment and management of NCDs. The figures are stark. In June 2020 – just weeks
into the pandemic – WHO published a survey showing that prevention and treatment services – for tackling NCDs – had been severely disrupted since the start of the pandemic. WHO said that this situation was of significant concern because people living with NCDs were at higher risk of severe Covid-19-related illness and death. NCDs remain a key issue in 2022 as reported by WHO:
DUB AI 2023
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