Health Systems Research (HSR) 2024

Abt Global believes that strong health systems are important in achieving health for all. We are proud to join and present at the Health Systems Research (HSR) Symposium 2024 focused on the importance of just and sustainable health systems.

People-centered and resilient health systems are able to adapt in the face of conflict, climate challenges, and other crises including through preparation and early warning of potential dangers as well as timely response to changing population needs. Working across sectors and geographies, Abt leads flagship programs to strengthen health systems at national and subnational levels to promote optimal use of system resources: health workers, financing and supplies, and ensuring that systems reach people in vulnerable circumstances with quality services, including through our efforts to electrify rural health facilities and strengthen community climate adaptation and resilience planning.

We understand the intersections between climate and health systems. The health sector is on the frontlines of the climate crisis, with extreme heat, floods, fires, and storms contributing to increased illnesses, changes in disease patterns, and health service delivery disruptions, to name a few. To address this massive challenge, we partner with clients, ministries of health, local organizations, and communities to co-develop approaches to mainstream adaptation and mitigation strategies that improve the resilience of systems, communities, and people worldwide. Our work draws equally on Abt’s data-driven technical expertise and on the insights of communities we partner with, ensuring that—together—we devise equitable, sustainable, locally tailored solutions that center people in resilient health systems.

Please join us at our presentations and stop by our booth and meet our experts! We’d love to meet you and exchange ideas. Check back for more information on our panel presentations and onsite exhibit.

Satellite Sessions

Monday, November 18 | 12:45pm – 5:00pm | Room 101C    
Title: Achieving change in complex health systems: How to understand the effects of integrated interventions on health systems performance    
Contributors: Midori de Habich, Former Minister of Health, Peru and Technical Director, Local Health System Sustainability Project (LHSS), Abt Global; Shipra Srihari, Senior Health Systems Strengthening Advisor, LHSS Project, Abt Global; Dr. Tia Phalla, Vice Chair of National AIDS Authority, Cambodia; Alison Gichohi, Capacity Building Officer, East Africa Community Secretariat; Maria Francisco, Project Director, LHSS Project, Abt Global

Tuesday, November 19 | 12:45pm – 2:45pm | Room 109    
Title: Public financial management as a critical foundation to addressing health system vulnerabilities    
Format: Live presentation and moderated panel discussion 
Description: To build resiliency toward climate events or infectious disease outbreaks, governments need to ensure that budgets are formulated and allocated based on assessed needs; and flexibility to change resource allocation to meet unexpected needs. Better alignment of PFM and health financing addresses these challenges by allowing for improvements in strategic purchasing and greater provider autonomy, while also making better use of available resources. Building on global standards and using examples from Vietnam, Nigeria, and others, this panel will discuss how strong PFM systems provide a foundation on which countries can achieve broader health goals and health system resiliency.  
Contributors: Diu Nguyen, Chief of Party, LHSS Vietnam, Abt Global; Dr. Ekpenyong Ekanem, Director, Performance Monitoring and Learning, LHSS Project, Abt Global; Bolanle Olusola-Faleye, Chief of Party, LHSS Nigeria, Abt Global; Helene Barroy, Senior Public Finance Expert, World Health Organization; Cheryl Cashin, Managing Director, R4D; Anita Musiega, Post-Doctoral Researcher, KEMRI

Oral Presentations and Panels

Tuesday, November 19

12:45pm – 2:45pm | Location 107   
Title: Adopting an appropriate tool for efficient targeting patient subsidy in Afghanistan.   
Presenter: Soumitra Ghosh, Abt Global

Wednesday, November 20

8:00am – 9:30am | Room 101B    
Title: Systems Approaches to Realizing Universal Health Coverage Amidst Mixed Migration in Latin America    
Contributors: Dr. Maria Paulina Giusti (Session Chair and Lead Author), Former Deputy Minister of Health, Peru; Dr. Jose Carlos Gutierrez, Activity Manager for the LHSS LAC Bureau Activity, LHSS Project, Abt Global; Dr. Andrea Boccardi, Director, UNAIDS for the Andean Countries (Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia); Miguel Pulido, Chief of Party, LHSS Colombia, Abt Global

11:40am – 1:10pm | Room 101C    
Title: How COVID-19 Pandemic Response Was Leveraged to Strengthen Health System and Local Capacity: Stories from Colombia, Ghana, Peru, South Africa and Tajikistan    
Presenter: Yordanos Molla, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Lead, LHSS Project, Abt Global

11:40am – 1:10pm | Room 109    
Title: Top Down or Bottom Up? Strategies for Promoting Investments in Primary Health Care from Bangladesh and Nigeria    
Presenter: Dr. Ekpenyong Ekanem, Director, Performance Monitoring and Learning, LHSS Project, Abt Global

4:10pm – 5:40pm | Room 107    
Title: Learning Health Systems: Capturing the Health Sector’s Response to the 2017/18 Cape Town Drought, South Africa    
Presenter: Amanda Quintana, Climate and Health Technical Lead, Abt Global

Thursday, November 21

11:40am – 1:10am | Location 105    
Title: Navigating Complexity: Applying Complexity-Aware Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Principles within a Multi-Country Health Systems Strengthening Project    
Presenter: Dr. Ekpenyong Ekanem, Director, Performance Monitoring and Learning, LHSS Project, Abt Global

11:40am – 1:10pm | Room 107    
Title: Assessment of Social Contracting Pilot Implementation in Vietnam for the 2022-2024 Period – Evidence for Expanding Publicly Financed HIV Services    
Presenter: Diu Nguyen, Chief of Party, LHSS Vietnam, Abt Global

Friday, November 22

2:10pm – 3:40pm | Location 101B    
Title: Strengthening Institutional Frameworks to Better Integrate and Support Community Health Workers: A Case Study from Tanzania    
Abt Presenter: Mignote Haile, Activity Manager, LHSS Project, Abt Global

2:10pm – 3:40pm | Location 107    
Title: A Learning and Experience-Sharing Network in Rwanda Improves Insurance Enrollment and Accreditation Scores    
Presenter: Taylor Williamson, Client Account Director, Abt Global; Celestin Gasana, CARE Canada

2:10pm – 3:40pm | Location 107  
Title: Fiscal Space Analysis is Only a Starting Point, so What Comes Next? The Nigerian Vulnerable Group Fund Plans to Grow  
Presenter: Bolanle Olusola-Faleye, Chief of Party, LHSS Nigeria, Abt Global

Abt Posters

Title: Systems Thinking and Inclusive Stakeholder Engagement: Keys to Unlocking Namibia’s Stalled UHC Agenda    
Presenter: Munyaradzi Mareke, Senior Health Financing Advisor, LHSS Namibia, Abt Global

Title: Interoperable Health Information System Advances Health Equity for Mobile Cross-Border Populations in East Africa    
Presenter: Alison Gichohi, Capacity Building Officer, East Africa Community Secretariat

Title: Peer Learning Paves the Way for Strengthening Urban Primary Health Care among the Local government Institutions in Bangladesh    
Presenter: Bolanle Olusola-Faleye, Chief of Party, LHSS Nigeria, Abt Global

Title: Building on COVID-19 Response Strategies for a More Climate-Resilient Health System in Colombia    
Presenter: Miguel Pulido, Chief of Party, LHSS Colombia, Abt Global

Title: Behind the Scenes: Establishing an Institutional Framework to Govern Telemedicine in Ukraine    
Presenter: Ben Dunbar, Project Manager, LHSS Project, Abt Global