Sixth Advanced course on health financing for universal coverage for low- and middle-income countries

Overview

Course announcement

WHO announced the Sixth Advanced course on health financing for universal coverage for low- and middle-income countries, held from 18 to 22 November 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. The week's long advanced training program was organized by WHO’s Health Financing Policy team based in Geneva with selected contributions from global experts.

Who was the course for?

The course was designed for policy makers, advisors and analysts in the health and social sectors, senior managers of service provider organizations and health insurance funds, and other relevant actors in government (e.g. Ministries of Finance, Parliamentarians), the private sector and civil society. This was an advanced course and participants were expected to have extensive and relevant work experience and knowledge of health financing policy, and previous training in health systems and policy (e.g. participation in a Flagship Course).

This course was delivered exclusively in English.

Course content

The course was structured in line with WHO’s approach to thinking and analyzing health financing policy and its role in improving health system performance, in particular making progress towards universal health coverage. During the course, participants were able to apply WHO approach to analyze and reflect on their own health systems performance, assessed the problems it faces, and discuss ideas with professionals from a wide range of countries. The course was organized around the following core health financing functions or topics:

• Raising revenues – strategic issues for policy makers
• Pooling health revenues – minimizing fragmentation to maximize performance
• Purchasing – more health for the money through payment reforms
• Benefit design – considering equity, efficiency, financial protection and transparency
• Health financing and public finance management – addressing bottlenecks
• Coordinating reform – aligning multiple policy instruments with system goals

Faculty

The faculty was comprised of both core trainers and guest keynote speakers, reflecting a diverse experience in health financing policy:

Core training team

• Joseph Kutzin, Head of Health Financing Policy Team, WHO Geneva
• Matthew Jowett, Senior Health Financing Specialist, WHO Geneva
• Helene Barroy, Senior Health Financing Specialist, WHO Geneva
• Cheryl Cashin, Managing Director, Results for Development Institute

Keynote speakers

Previous keynote speakers include: Eduardo Gonzalez Pier (Visiting Fellow at the Center for Global Development, former Deputy Minister of Health, Mexico), Viroj Tangcharoensathien (Senior Advisor, Ministry of Health, Thailand), Professor Diane McIntyre (School of Public Health and Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town), Professor Sarah Bennett (Johns Hopkins School of Public Health), and Dr. Agnès Soucat (Director for Health Systems Governance and Financing at WHO Geneva).

This year’s Keynote Speakers were announced closer to the course.

Applications and deadlines

Step 1: Interested candidates completed and submitted the online application form. The deadline for applications was Thursday 4 July 2019 at midnight (Geneva, Switzerland time). Places on the course were limited and demand was extremely high; this was an advanced course and not all applicants were guaranteed a place.

Step 2: A Course Selection Committee selected participants based on a number of criteria. Please note that this was an advanced course, and hence the relevance of the applicant’s current position and work functions, and evidence of previous training on health policy and/or systems strengthening were particularly important. English language ability was also taken into account. Unfortunately, those who had already attended the course were not be offered a place. Completion of the WHO e-learning course and submission of the certificate were a part of the selection process. Teams from the same country representing different policy perspectives (e.g. health and finance) were strongly encouraged to apply.

Applicants were informed of the decision of the Course Selection Committee by email within approximately four weeks of closure of applications.

Step 3: Accepted applicants were then requested to confirm their participation in order to secure a place on the course; proof of funding to attend the course was an important consideration at this stage.

Costs and registration fee

There was no tuition or registration fee to attend the course.

WHO covered all costs related to the organization of the training course, including provision of course materials, drink and snacks breaks (morning and afternoon), and a midday meal on each of the five days of the course, plus one evening dinner reception.

Participants were responsible for organizing all other costs i.e. travel, accommodation, and other subsistence costs while attending the course. WHO made recommendations with respect to accommodation.

Visa

Applicants were responsible for obtaining a visa, if required, to enter Switzerland. A formal invitation and visa support letter was provided by WHO. Please note that obtaining a visa required several weeks. Applicants were advised to confirm as early as possible the application process and likely timeframe with their nearest visa issuing authority.