Source: http://www.hsr-symposium.org/index.php/press-release-19nov

[See: symposium website at www.hsr-symposium.org: for Concluding
symposium statement, videos and PowerPoint presentations of all
plenary sessions, blogs, news coverage during the week, background
papers, and more.]

Summary Review of Symposium:

Increasing access to health coverage requires stronger health systems

Global symposium provides evidence on ways to expand health care to
most vulnerable

19 November, 2010, Montreux, Switzerland:  A call for a new
international society for health systems research, knowledge and
innovation concluded the 4 day meeting being held this week on health
systems. More than 1 200 experts from around the globe came together
for the first time here. They proclaimed a new era for health systems
research to become an established "third pole" of medical research,
complementing biomedical and clinical research.

A new analysis by John-Arne Røttingen of the Norwegian Knowledge
Centre for the Health Services showed that health systems research,
while growing, is still on average only 10% of total health research,
and of that, only about 10% is led by scientists in the countries
where the most serious system problems are – the low and middle
income countries.

The cry for country ownership and developing the capacity to create
better systems was a main focus at the symposium. High out-of-pocket
expenses and lack of access to quality health care, drugs, vaccines,
health care workers and facilities are critical barriers in most
developing countries.

The symposium was organized by the World Health Organization, the
Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases
(TDR), the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, the
Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in
Human Reproduction (HRP), and the Global Forum for Health Research,
in partnership with more than 20 other major funders, demonstrating
the growing interest and support for this field.

Symposium organizers are planning future events to build on the
momentum created at this meeting, and to carve out stronger and more
numerous research methods and studies. The World Health
Organization's Assistant Director-General of Health Systems and
Services Carissa Etienne said in her concluding remarks, "We must
move quickly to bridge the divides, to build capacity and to invest
in health systems research in low and middle income countries." She
said she looked forward to future meetings, when health systems
research has helped more women access antenatal care, and more
children to live beyond their first years.

On the symposium website at www.hsr-symposium.org:
Concluding symposium statement, videos and PowerPoint presentations of
all plenary sessions, blogs, news coverage during the week, background
papers, and more.

For further information:
Jamie Guth
TDR Communications Manager
+41 79 441 2289
[log in to unmask]

****Posted by ********************************
Dr Sam Lanfranco (Prof Emeritus) Econ, York U.
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA - M3J 1P3
email: [log in to unmask]   Skype: slanfranco
blog:  http://samlanfranco.blogspot.com
Phone: 613 476-0429 cell: 416-816-2852
**********************************************

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