October 2016 marks exactly two years since I was selected onto the exciting Emerging Voices (EV) for Global Health Programme. Ever since, it has been a phenomenal experience which has provided a much needed space for younger researchers and to propel their voices in the field of health systems and policy research. Through the venture, extensive ...

Every time when the despair reaches its peak in the Gaza strip, we are confronted by the western media, international expatriates and researchers praising our ability to withstand our conditions. They point to our Resilience in the face of the inhuman circumstances in which we are submersed. They describe our experience as the Epitome of Resilie...

Mid-afternoon, week-II of the Emerging Voices for Global Health program, I look at the participants around me at the 2016 Emerging Voices for Global Health (EV4GH) and notice that a policymaker who just arrived and I are the only ones from the Middle East and North African (MENA) region The limited participation from the MENA region is intriguin...

The adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, was built on the momentum gained towards improving health and development indicators under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).The SDGs present a major milestone in unifying efforts towards global development, as well as, addressing the limitations of the MDGs. In this article...

Very soon a number of health system and policy researchers and practitioners, civil society, academia and policy makers from around the world will gather in Vancouver, Canada for the Fourth Global Symposium on Health Systems Research (HSR). The build-up to this biennial conference shows that there is considerable excitement and debate on this ye...

At a time when governments in the most affluent countries are turning their agendas into monopolistic interest-friendly policies, international trade agreements such as TTIP, TPP, CETA and TISA, among others, are incurring criticism for the effects these agreements will have on access to health services for the public health. These cases represe...

Once every twenty years the United Nations brings together thousands of participants from member states to garner and secure political commitment, review past commitments, address and identify challenges towards sustainable urban development. This week, Quito (Ecuador) played host to the UN’s third conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban D...

As health systems researchers and policymakers we need to remember that the word “gender” is not synonymous with “woman.” Gender analysis is about exploring how gendered power relations (eg. norms, roles, access to resources, decision-making) affect differences in health system experiences, access, and outcomes for men, women, and people of othe...

German chancellor Merkel’s slogan “Wir schaffen das” (we can do it) was first heard in 2015 after the onset of what has been called the greatest challenge of post-war Germany:  the migration of hundreds of thousands of forcibly displaced individuals (mostly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan) over the last year into the country. While this ...