Universal Health Coverage

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Governance
Nurse Eliany Alves, whose wrist tattoo reads “everything is a phase,” holds the hand of a COVID patient in the ICU of Hospital São Paulo, in São Paulo, Brazil, on March 17, 2021.

A Help Wanted Sign for Health Workers

by Annie Haakenstad, Megan Knight

What the ratio of doctors to nurses in Bangladesh and the Philippines tells us about the global health worker shortage

Poverty
An intubated patient tries to gesture at a medical worker holding his hand at the Sotiria hospital ICU during the coronavirus outbreak, in Athens, Greece, on April 25, 2020. Picture shows the hand of a patient in a hospital bed being held by the blue-gloved hand of a medical worker. REUTERS/Giorgos Moutafis

Scaling up Surgery and Anesthesia, Post-Coronavirus

by Craig McClain, Laura Hoemeke, Natalie Sheneman

Expanding access to surgery and anesthesia globally would be a win–win for health security and universal health coverage

A volunteer places American flags on the National Mall in Washington DC—representing some of the more than 200,000 lives lost in the United States to coronavirus—on September 22, 2020. The photo shows a young woman on one knee planting a small American flag in the ground. Many more can be seen blurred and out of focus in the foreground. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
Governance

National Security Risks and the American Weak Link

by Ans Irfan, Cynthia Golembeski, Jonathan Williams, Ashley Bieniek-Tobasco

We should address U.S. investment choices in Public Health Infrastructure and Universal Health Care after COVID-19

People at a coronavirus testing center on July 2, 2020 in Mugda Medical College in Dhaka, Bangladesh, where half of the medical equipment in public health facilities goes unused according to the authors. The photo shows a crowd of people wearing masks waiting on line in chairs while a health worker in full protective gear walks beside them. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain
Poverty

Who Gets What and Why?

by Héctor Castro

Countries need informed decision-making through health technology assessment to allocate resources during the pandemic

A girl from a migrant worker family that came to Thailand from Myanmar and lost their jobs due to COVID-19, lines up for free food in Bangkok, Thailand, on April 23, 2020. The photo shows a small girl wearing a facemask looking at the camera. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
Migration

In Thailand, Noncitizen Health Matters

by Titiporn Tuangratananon, Rapeepong Suphanchaimat, Piya Hanvoravongchai, Swee Kheng Khor

National progress on migrant health is expansive, effective, and has helped Thailand avoid the worst of the coronavirus

A tattered U.S. flag damaged in Hurricane Harvey, flies in Conroe, Texas, on August 29, 2017. The photo shows a torn U.S. flag blowing against a dark grey sky. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
Environment

Hurricanes, Pandemics, Floods, Frail Systems, and Failed Responses

by Hannah Todd, Justin Onwenu

Imagining a post-Harvey, post-Irma, post-Hanna, post-COVID-19 world of pandemics, natural disasters, and U.S. resiliency

A player checks his cards during the finals of the Russian Masters Poker Cup at the Azov-City, Russia, gambling zone, south of Russia's southern city of Rostov-on-Don, on September 23, 2010. Photo shows a pair of hands holding up the corners of two cards to reveal a pair of aces. A large stack of chips is in the background. REUTERS/Vladimir Konstantinov
Governance

All Bets Are Off for Measuring Pandemic Preparedness

by Sawyer Crosby, Joseph L. Dieleman, Samantha Kiernan, Thomas J. Bollyky

Three standard measures don't predict how countries fare in COVID-19—so how do we better prepare for the next pandemic?

A woman gets her eyes tested at a free eye-care camp on the occasion of Indian politician Babasaheb Ambedkar's death anniversary in Mumbai, India, December 6, 2019. The photo shows an older woman with testing glasses on her face. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas
Poverty

COVID-19 Highlights the Need for Universal Health Coverage

by Anthony McDonnell

Universal health coverage is achievable for all countries—and in the aftermath of the pandemic, it should be implemented

A man coughs as children walk past roadside, during the coronavirus pandemic in Nairobi, Kenya April 19, 2020. This is a powerful image of two children looking at a man who is coughing into his had with his head turned. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya
Urbanization

Coronavirus in East Africa

by Moses Tetui

Disease-induced divisions and challenges to regional blocs are set to deepen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic

People sit in a chemotherapy ward while undergoing treatment for cancer at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana on April 24, 2012. Most of Africa's 2,000 languages have no word for cancer. Picture shows two people in comfortable chairs from the chest down. at least one of them has an IV in her arm, presumably an infusion of chemo meds. REUTERS/Olivier Asselin
Poverty

Tackling Cancer Through Universal Health Coverage

by Sally G. Cowal, Christian Sellars

Turning the tide through prevention, treatment, and other cancer control interventions depends on strong health systems

You wouldn’t know it from this image of hustle-bustle on the streets of the Mong Kok district in Hong Kong on Oct. 4, 2011, but the workforce in many Asian economic powerhouses is steadily shrinking. Picture shows the street from above, a wide pedestrian walkway with broad yellow lines painted at an angle. Dozens of people can be seen in the frame, all blurred due to fast movement and a slow shutter. REUTERS/Bobby Yip
Aging

Lessons From an Aging Asia

by Erin Gallagher, Sheila A. Smith

How will demographic shifts affect workforce, health care, gender equality, disaster response, and societal well-being?

A woman at a clinic in Olenguruone, Kenya on Oct. 29, 2013 undergoes an eye exam, cataract check, and retinal scan with a technology using smartphones that uploads the data to a doctor for analysis. The photo shows a mature woman wearing a bright orange scarf taking an eye test, holding a green patch to her left eye and raising her right hand in front of her face. REUTERS/Noor Khamis
Governance

Diagnostic Gaps in Global Health

by Catharina Boehme, Madhukar Pai

Lack of diagnostic capacity in primary care impacts patient outcomes, damages health systems, and lowers health security

Peter Salama visits a makeshift school at Kule Camp in the Gambella region of Ethiopia on August 12, 2014, when he was the Country Representative of UNICEF Ethiopia. Picture shows Dr. Salama wearing a blue hat talking to several boys in a classroom. They are all smiling. UNICEF/Jiro Ose/UNI170605
Poverty

A Tribute to Peter Salama, a Champion of People in Fragile States and War-Torn Places

by Richard Brennan, David Nabarro

Original director of WHO Health Emergencies Program, he fought against Ebola and for Universal Health Coverage worldwide