On Sunday 16th of April, the north western coast of Ecuador was struck by an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale. While, the 16million or so people of this South American country are no strangers to earthquakes, this was one of the biggest to have hit the country in recent times. The quake, which according to the UN is “the region´s...

A  weblink related to a recent  UHC financing forum in Washington DC  (hosted by the World Bank) caught my attention a few weeks ago. The (PR) picture in the article featured health workers handling newborns placed head-to-head in what appears to be a routine setting. All seems peaceful and nice, but from a technical standpoint, the picture a...

Early last month, South Africa became a new entrant to the list of countries proposing use of the none-too-wisely-named ‘sin tax’ to deter consumption of demerit (socially undesirable or unhealthy) goods. The government recommended implementation of a drastic increase on sugar-sweetened beverages, as South Africans consume almost double the ...

A (by now, rather famous) quote from Margaret Chan supports the global branding of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). In the quote, the WHO Director-General states: “I regard universal health coverage as the single most powerful concept that public health has to offer.” I argue in this short piece that this quote does not capture the very natu...

There is no escape from the NCD epidemic. In recent weeks, two consecutive papers in the Lancet, to which our colleagues Patrick Kolsteren and Roos Verstraeten  contributed as  members of the NCDRIsC group, underscored this (inconvenient?) NCD truth once again. Among the key messages: 1) quantitatively, the problem of obesity now outweighs tha...

I am a trained anthropologist from University of Pune-India, and hold a PhD in public health and policy from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). In the year 2000, I was also ordained as a Lay Leader to serve the local Church. Although not a trained theologian, my interest in theology does sustain till date. In search of a...

If you’re a young health (systems) researcher, I’m sure you will identify with me when I talk about the challenges many of us face in the broader academic environment (including in the vastly cooler world of health systems research in which you from to time get to enjoy Lucy Gilson’s YMCA dance moves during serious meetings, or can talk  ...

        Nasreen Jessani (EV 2014)   The EV4GH is more than a program – its an experience – one that is similar to that first intense overwhelming first year at university where you plan to go predominantly for the learning but realize that country you are in, the people you are meeting and the networks you are making will transcend all that! Wh...

We’ve heard it for decades. Women’s empowerment and gender equity are key components in fighting poverty, realizing human rights, building stable societies, sustaining peace and promoting health. Arguably, both directly and indirectly, women’s empowerment is a contributing piece to all 17 sustainable development goals. And yet, this is an ...