Health Systems & Workforce Strengthening Unit
Our mission is to strengthen health systems and promote the development of the health workforce in the Global South for equitable access to quality health care. We do this through robust and innovative research, education and capacity strengthening for the co-production and application of knowledge with policy makers, academics, practitioners and communities.
Our current initiatives include:
- ReBUILD for Resilience – a £7.68million FCDO-funded research programme which looks at health systems in fragile and shock-prone settings, eg those experiencing violence, pandemics and conflict.
- PERFORM2Scale which works to improve health workforce management to achieve universal health care in Ghana, Malawi and Uganda. This intervention is receiving 7.689 million euros from the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme.
We aim to:
- Work in partnerships that are pro-equity, see health as a human right, and recognise the health workforce as the heart of a resilient and sustainable health system.
- Consider health systems holistically, engaging directly with communities and making productive links both within and beyond the health sector.
- Engage in high quality, innovative and ethical ways of working with a focus on informing policy and practice.
- Support partners through capacity development and promote South-South collaborations.
- Continuously reflect on our work to improve our performance.
- Encourage and value contributions from all members of the team.
Our goals are to:
- Work collaboratively with key stakeholders to generate relevant evidence: by working at local, regional and national levels and with policy makers and international networks, we will develop a body of relevant, high-quality health systems research.
- Promote research uptake: using our evidence and key partnerships we will influence attitudes, practice and policy, thus fostering resilience and sustainability.
- Knowledge sharing: that evidence will also be used to inform our education programmes.
- Strengthen capacity to deliver: we will continually develop our team, systems and partnerships to support resilient and sustainable health systems and health workforces.
We are also members of the LSTM-wide multi-disciplinary group CHESS (Centre for Health Systems Strengthening) which uses research and teaching to strengthen health systems and to improve health and well-being amongst the poorest and marginalised in low and middle-income countries.
