Seventh World Congress of the International Health Economics Association
12-15 JULY 2009 | BEIJING
Health economists worldwide focus on mothers and children
Organizer: International Health Economics Association
Event dates: 12-15 July 2009
Venue: Beijing, China
Maternal and child health figured prominently at the Seventh World Congress of the International Health Economics Association (iHEA), which was held in Beijing on July 12-15, 2009. The IHEA congress allows health economists to exchange research findings and discuss ways to impact the design and implementation of health strategies and programs. It was attended by more than 2,000 researchers and government officials at the global, regional and national levels.
The issues of child and maternal mortality and health were addressed in 14 different sessions--more than any other issue at the conference. This year's congress also focused more on low and middle-income countries than in the past.
Partners from the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH) organized and participated in several of the MNCH sessions, including:
- The World Health Organization (WHO), with inputs from USAID, organized a session on tracking expenditures, which ties directly to the financing work of the Countdown to 2015 Initiative;
- The World Bank organized a discussion on the impact of the global financial and economic crisis on health financing and outcomes;
- The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Systems organized and presented during several sessions on approaches to strengthening health systems, which is extremely important to address maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH);
- The Asian Development Bank provided critical contributions at several sessions.
In conjunction with the Congress, a pre-iHEA Symposium on the Role of the Private Sector in Health also took place. Abstracts and presentations from this Symposium can be found on the Private Healthcare in Developing Countries website.
Staff of The Partnership secretariat also participated in a briefing on MNCH organized by the WHO China Country Office in Beijing which included presentations on the Asia-Pacific Investment Case for maternal, newborn and child health and an analysis on the impact of the financial and economic crisis on MNCH outcomes and financing in the region. The Chinese Ministry of Health signaled strong interest to conduct a country-specific investment case in China, as well as participating in the analysis of the impact of the economic crisis on MNCH in the region.