Global Health Financing Initiatives

As the world increasingly focuses on improving the health of the poor, it is clear that advances in health care delivery must be matched with innovations in global health financing. Private philanthropy, donations from wealthy countries, and public-private partnerships are all funding promising health interventions. But how can these financing mechanisms be improved? How can developing countries reform their health systems to better meet the needs of their most vulnerable populations? And could new financing mechanisms overcome the barriers that now prevent or stall development of new vaccines and other cost effective interventions that could save millions of lives?

On July 24, 25, and 26, the Brookings Global Economy and Development Program co-hosted a series of panel discussions with the World Health Organization-backed Health Financing Task Force to explore global health funding gaps and inequalities. The series included discussions of country-level health reform efforts; the role of the public sector; and some of the innovative proposals that aim to improve the financing and delivery of health interventions in poor countries. The series also served to introduce and inform Brookings’ new global health initiative, which focuses on reviewing and analyzing innovative financing proposals, such as the airline tax and advance market commitments, to determine which are most effective.

Download the transcript of the discussion on July 26 on “Leveraging Private Finance for Health,” with Amy Tsui, Johns Hopkins University; Onno Schellekens, PharmAccess; and Jacques van der Gaag, University of Amsterdam.