Global Health Governance

"There is little doubt that synergies exist between health systems and the GHIs. But are these synergies being vigorously exploited by all stakeholders to ensure maximum, mutual added value? Or are new opportunities for improved public health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries being missed?"


We study the link between the Global Health Initiatives (GHI) and the national health systems. We try to pin out synergies and inefficiencies. It is obvious that increased funding over the last years allowed to increase for example the number of patients on Anti Retroviral treatment or the number of children vaccinated. But did we achieve the best we could? Do we have the best health aid architecture? Are the rights of the beneficiaries sufficiently respected?

We also promote the participation of experts from the South in this debate and share expertise in a virtual discussion group

To increase awareness among experts we share a weekly newsletter on issues around global health governance.

We present a number of key articles to inform you about the ongoing debates:

• Crowding out: are relations between international health aid and government health funding too complex to be captured in averages only?
  Gorik Ooms PhD, Kristof Decoster MSc, Katabaro Miti PhD, Sabine Rens BA, Luc Van Leemput MSc, Peter Vermeiren MSc, Wim Van Damme MD
  DSpace handle
• The New Dichotomy in Health Systems Strengthening and the Role of Global Health Initiatives: What Can We Learn from Ethiopia?
  Gorik Ooms, David Hercot, Yibeltal Assefa, Wim Van Damme
  In Journal of Public Health Policy (2010) 31, 100–109. doi:10.1057/jphp.2009.54
  Editorial: Global health initiatives and the new dichotomy in health systems
  Bettina Borisch
• The 'diagonal' approach to Global Fund financing: a cure for the broader malaise of health systems?
  Gorik Ooms, Wim Van Damme, Brook K Baker, Paul Zeitz and Ted Schrecker Globalization and Health 2008. 4:6doi:10.1186/1744-8603-4-6
• Scaling up global social health protection: prerequisite reforms to the international monetary fund
  Gorik Ooms and Rachel Hammonds
  International Journal of Health Services, Volume 39, Number 4, Pages 795–801, 2009 © 2009, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc. doi: 10.2190/HS.39.4.m
• Research capacity strengthening in the DRC
  P Lutumba, V Kande, M Boelaert, JM Kayembe, S Mampunza, The Lancet,  Volume 375, Issue 9720, Page 1080, 27 March 2010. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60476-X