COVID-19 Webinar Series #10 “Building Health Systems toward Resilient UHC with/after the Pandemic”

Moderators and panelists

Speakers:
Dr SAKAMOTO Haruka, Associate Professor, Tokyo Women's Medical University
Prof WADA Koji, Professor, International University of Health and Welfare
Prof Margaret Kaseje, Director, Programs and Research, the Tropical Institute of Community Health and Development Trust, Kenya
Dr Tran Thi Mai Oanh, Director, Health Strategy and Policy Institute, Ministry of Health, Viet Nam
Dr Walaiporn Patcharanarumol, Director, Global Health Division, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand

Moderators:
Prof SUGISHITA Tomohiko, Professor, Tokyo Women's Medical University
Ms MAKIMOTO Saeda, Principal Research Fellow, JICA Ogata Research Institute

Primary objectives and outcomes

The end of the COVID-19 pandemic remains out of sight. To overcome challenges in these times of uncertainty, Japan has set the goal of leaving no one's health behind. JICA is taking a holistic approach to address issues related to the pandemic and health security in partner countries by focusing on prevention, precaution and treatment. Using this approach, it hopes to contribute to the protection of people's lives as the urgent target and build increasingly resilient societies over time.

In a situation where appropriate solutions are lacking, continuously sharing the latest research findings and the knowledge and experience gained through practice is an imperative. Thus, this webinar invited distinguished researchers and clinicians in Japan to share the latest knowledge and experience in their respective fields and promote the efforts of each country in protecting people from COVID-19.

Content of the discussions

In this 10th webinar, different countries' experiences and lessons of reorganization of health service delivery during the pandemic, the so called "surge capacity", are presented. To respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and sustain other health services, countries have been required to rapidly increase and reorganize health service delivery capacity, such as the availability of hospital beds, allocation of the health workforce, and so on. Some countries may have already had a legal framework to enable such rapid increase, and others may have to take new approaches. In the webinar, JICA Ogata RI research group member, Dr. Sakamoto, shared a preliminary analysis of an international comparative study, and case studies from Japan, Kenya, Vietnam and Thailand were shared by the other speakers.

The speakers spoke about efforts in their countries to mobilize health care workers and private hospitals, to reduce the medical burden by ensuring infection prevention actions through risk communication and community engagement, to introduce remote medical care, to utilize home-based care, to ensure the necessary legal framework and financial Incentives, and so on, were reported. The challenges faced were also shared, including training for mobilized health care workers, dealing with significant financial burdens in the future, the leadership and management capacity of local government, and the reform of data systems.

With 244 participants from 46 countries and regions around the world, there was a lively discussion on the factors hindering the adaptive reorganization of health service delivery and how to ensure equity in the pandemic. We need to continue the discussion on the experiences and implications from COVID-19 to allow the building of more equitable and resilient UHC within and after the pandemic.

• COVID-19 Webinar Series #10 “Building Health Systems toward Resilient UHC with/after the Pandemic” [PDF／558KB]

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

English and Japanese (with simultaneous interpretation)

• Ensuring Surge Capacity for COVID-19 in Japan (Prof Wada Koji) [PDF／1.23MB]
• COVID-19 and Health Care System (Dr Sakamoto Haruka) [PDF／294KB]
• Re-thinking Health Care Systems Towards Resilient UHCーResponse of Kenya Health Care System To COVID-19 (Prof Margaret Kaseje) [PDF／2.05MB]
• Vietnam’s Health Service Delivery System From Experience of COVID-19 (Dr Tran Thi Mai Oanh) [PDF／1.40MB]
• Thai UHC and Health Systems for COVID-19 Responses (Dr Walaiporn Patcharanarumol) [PDF／2.19MB]