Protecting essential health services in low-income and middle-income countries and humanitarian settings while responding to the COVID-19 pandemic

Karl Blanchet; Ala Alwan; Caroline Antoine; Marion Jane Cros; Ferozuddin Feroz; Tseguaneh Amsalu Guracha; Oystein Haaland; Alemayehu Hailu; Peter Hangoma; Dean Jamison; Solomon Tessema Memirie; Ingrid Miljeteig; Ahmad Jan Naeem; Sara L Nam; Ole Frithjof Norheim; Stéphane Verguet; David Watkins; Kjell Arne Johansson

doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003675

Protecting essential health services in low-income and middle-income countries and humanitarian settings while responding to the COVID-19 pandemic

BMJ Glob Health. 2020 Oct;5(10):e003675. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003675.

Authors

Karl Blanchet¹, Ala Alwan^{2

3}, Caroline Antoine⁴, Marion Jane Cros⁵, Ferozuddin Feroz⁶, Tseguaneh Amsalu Guracha⁷, Oystein Haaland⁸, Alemayehu Hailu⁸, Peter Hangoma⁹, Dean Jamison¹⁰, Solomon Tessema Memirie^{11

12}, Ingrid Miljeteig^{13

14}, Ahmad Jan Naeem⁶, Sara L Nam¹⁵, Ole Frithjof Norheim⁸, Stéphane Verguet¹⁶, David Watkins³, Kjell Arne Johansson¹⁷

Affiliations

¹ Geneva Centre of Humanitarian Studies, University of Geneva Faculty of Medicine, Geneve, Switzerland karl.blanchet@unige.ch.
² Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
³ University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.
⁴ Action Contre la Faim, Paris, France.
⁵ Global Financing Facility/World Bank, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
⁶ Ministry of Public Health, Kabul, Afghanistan.
⁷ Global Financing Facility/World Bank, Addis Abab, Ethiopia.
⁸ Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
⁹ Health Policy and Management, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
¹⁰ Global Health Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
¹¹ Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Universitetet i Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
¹² Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
¹³ Department of Global Health and Primary Health Care, University of Bergen Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Bergen, Norway.
¹⁴ Department of Research and Development, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.
¹⁵ Options Consultancy Services Ltd, London, UK.
¹⁶ Global Health and Population, Harvard University T H Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
¹⁷ Department of Global Public Health and Primary care, University of Bergen Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Bergen, Norway.

Abstract

In health outcomes terms, the poorest countries stand to lose the most from these disruptions. In this paper, we make the case for a rational approach to public sector health spending and decision making during and in the early recovery phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on ethics and equity principles, it is crucial to ensure that patients not infected by COVID-19 continue to get access to healthcare and that the services they need continue to be resourced. We present a list of 120 essential non-COVID-19 health interventions that were adapted from the model health benefit packages developed by the Disease Control Priorities project.

Keywords: control strategies; health economics; health policies and all other topics; health systems; public health.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Altruism*
Betacoronavirus
COVID-19
Coronavirus Infections*
Developing Countries
Health Services Accessibility* / organization & administration
Health Services Accessibility* / standards
Humans
Pandemics*
Pneumonia, Viral*
Poverty
Public Health
SARS-CoV-2