A new film by Health Systems Global and the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research shows the vital role health policy and systems research (HPSR) plays in building stronger and more equitable health systems around the world.
Health systems around the world are designed to maintain health and preserve life, however, many lack the resources and support needed to improve the health of people on a daily basis, let alone when pushed to their limits by major incidents. This film brings to the fore the major challenges faced by health systems such as epidemics; economic crisis and mass migration and demonstrates the contribution of and the need for HPSR.
The film includes interviews with members of the global HPSR community, as well as highlighting cases from West Africa and South Asia. IDS Director Melissa Leach explains in the short film: ‘it’s really important to integrate HPSR into crises and incidents when shocks happen to health systems, otherwise we can’t respond to them effectively and we can’t build effective systems which are going to be more resilient into the future’.
As a tool for advocacy; teaching and learning, this short film is useful for the public, media, donors, and NGOs, both within and outside the HPSR community.