Researchers want pro-poor health delivery system

Jan 16, 2007

A BETTER health delivery system that favours the poor is soon here. Researchers at Makerere University’s Institute of Public Health have teamed up with public health and development researchers from Nigeria, India, Bangladesh, China, Afghanistan, UK and USA to ensure the system is in place.

By Ronald Kalyango

A BETTER health delivery system that favours the poor is soon here. Researchers at Makerere University’s Institute of Public Health have teamed up with public health and development researchers from Nigeria, India, Bangladesh, China, Afghanistan, UK and USA to ensure the system is in place.

“We tend to look at ways of strengthening delivery and regulate health services, how to better protect people from the financial shocks of illness and health care, and how to involve the poor in policy processes so that they can benefit,” said Dr. George Pariyo the project coordinator for the Ugandan research chapter from Makerere University, Institute of public Health.

He was speaking to researchers at a meeting held at imperial resort Hotel in Entebbe. The meeting, organised by Future Health Systems, a research consortium; funded by the UK department of International Development with partners from Uganda.

“We have found out that there are capable researchers who can help the poor get better treatment at a relatively lower cost,” said Dr. David Peters from USA.

Pariyo said they are investigating how to improve the performance of public and private ‘not-for-profit’ facilities in meeting the health-related needs of the poor in Uganda.

Dr. Elizabeth Ekirapa Kiracho from Makerere University said making health systems work is a major issue around the world. “There has been much attention on major diseases like AIDS, TB and malaria, and people have realised they need strong health systems to make the programmes work,”

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