Home > News & Events

News & Events


NEWS January 28, 2025

Webinar: Achieving Universal Health Coverage in Urban Settings: Incentives, Challenges, and Opportunities

Web Master

Cities in low- and middle-income countries are experiencing significant expansion. The World Bank estimates that India’s urban population will increase by 40% by 2036, necessitating an investment of $840 billion in infrastructure over the next five years. Given the urgent challenges related to urban health, how can low- and middle-income countries ensure access to integrated, quality, and affordable health care in line with their goal of achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC)? This webinar, co-hosted by Management Sciences for Health and the Joint Learning Network, will focus on “Achieving Universal Health Coverage in Urban Settings: Incentives, Challenges, and Opportunities.” It will address emerging issues in urban health in India, Malaysia, and Bangladesh. The discussion will deliberate on innovative financing strategies for population health in urban areas, approaches to reducing out-of-pocket expenses, and how to leverage development finance to achieve equity and efficiency in healthcare delivery. Participants will also be able to engage in a Q&A session during the latter half of the webinar. For more information, click here. Register Now

Learn More
NEWS July 9, 2024

Digital Health Collaborative First Authors’ Workshop

JLN Network Manager

The Digital Health Collaborative had its first Authors’ Workshop in Washington, D.C. from June 3-6, 2024. The workshop was attended by representatives from Collaborative member countries and special guests from digital health regional networks and organizations namely: RECAINSA, AeHIN, Africa CDC and HELINA. Representatives from Cambodia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal, and Tajikistan attended the workshop in person whereas representatives from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Ukraine attended parts of the workshop virtually. As a follow up to the Collaborative’s launch meeting, five workstreams were identified for co-development of knowledge products: 1) A playbook/ how-to guide on all levels of interoperability in health systems, including Health Information Exchange, 2) A how-to toolkit for digital health governance, 3) An annotated inventory of resources, 4)  A guide on private sector solutions, and 5) An orientation, evidence, and dialogue toolkit on making the case for digital health. The authors’ workshop focused on the first three workstreams. Workshop attendees participated in combined joint and parallel sessions with the objective of identifying key components and country experiences to be compiled and documented for each of the three workstreams. Specifically, they co-developed outlines for the interoperability and governance workstreams and provided feedback to a demonstration of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) companion for the inventory of resources workstream. Participants then identified the next steps for the remainder of the first year of the collaborative for each of the three workstreams. Upon completion of the workshop, members participated in offsite learning where they headed to the United States (US) Health Information Management System Society (HIMSS) National Capital Area chapter’s Health Innovation Summit, which included a digital health innovation marketplace and several talks by US digital health thought leaders. The World Bank provides technical facilitation for this Collaborative in partnership with the Digital Health Exemplars initiative, including the Center for Global Digital Health Innovation at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, eHealth Lab Ethiopia, the McKinsey Health Institute, Gates Ventures, and Exemplars in Global Health. Financial support for the Collaborative is provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Government of Japan.

Learn More
NEWS

JLN Showcase – Sidelines of 77 World Health Assembly, Geneva

JLN Network Manager

South-South Collaboration: Harnessing Cross-Country Learning for Sustainable Health Policy Reforms, 27th May 2024 at the International Geneva, Welcome Centre On May 27th, the Joint Learning Network (JLN) took centre stage at a special showcase held on the sidelines of the 77th World Health Assembly in Geneva. Jointly hosted by JLN, UHC Delivery Lab and Amref Health Africa, with the support of UHC2030, the session was a vibrant platform for sharing impactful stories and discussing future collaborations. The event, attended by over 75 participants in person and 24 virtually, brought together policymakers, representatives from civil society organizations, pharmaceutical companies, UHC advocacy organizations, WHO, the Global Fund, Cochrane, and other stakeholders. The focus of the session was on the transformative impact of JLN in countries like Malaysia and Ghana. A representative from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation highlighted the critical value of investing in collaborative platforms like JLN. “South-South collaboration is a powerful tool for driving sustainable health reforms,” said Dr. Jean Kagubare, Deputy Director of PHC at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. “Our investments show that cross-country learning not only accelerates innovation but also builds stronger, more resilient health systems. The real win is seeing these collaborations translate into tangible improvements in healthcare delivery and outcomes.” Dr. Anthony Ofosu, Deputy Director General of the Ghana Health Service, shared his experience: “Being part of the Joint Learning Network has been transformative for Ghana’s health system. The cross-country collaboration and knowledge sharing have significantly strengthened our policies, driving us closer to achieving universal health coverage.” Dr. Mercy Mwangangi, Senior Director of Health Systems Strengthening at Amref Health Africa, emphasized the importance of peer-to-peer learning facilitated by JLN, SPARC, and the UHC Lab. “Country pairing and coaching have been instrumental in fostering peer-to-peer learning, enabling countries to adopt best practices and tailor them to their unique contexts,” she noted. “Through our innovative learning platforms, we’ve seen firsthand how adaptive and participatory approaches can effectively address evolving health system challenges, driving sustainable reforms in LMICs.” Dinash Aravind from Malaysia’s Ministry of Health also shared insights on JLN’s impact. “JLN has been pivotal for Malaysia’s health system transformation, enhancing our policies and driving progress towards universal health coverage.” Dr. Ganda Gregory, County CEC, Health – Kisumu County noted that the Ethiopia-Kenya country pairing engagement facilitated by the UHC Delivery Lab had strengthened our Primary Care Networks, ensuring better health outcomes for our community through shared experiences and emerging lessons. The session highlighted the power of South-South collaboration in building resilient health systems and accelerating innovation, ultimately contributing to sustainable health reforms and improved healthcare delivery in low- and middle-income countries.

Learn More
NEWS June 26, 2024

Knowledge Products (KP) Showcase Series 2

JLN Network Manager

We are delighted to announce the JLN Knowledge Product (KP) Showcase Series to provide greater exposure to JLN’s recently concluded and ongoing work. The KP Showcase Series aligns with the interest of JLN Country Core Groups, providing an…

Learn More
NEWS January 4, 2024

Digital Health Collaborative Launch

JLN Network Manager

Participants during the in-person convening and launch of the Digital Health Collaborative in Jakarta, Indonesia The JLN’s new Digital Health Collaborative held its first in-person convening in Jakarta, Indonesia, from November 8  through 10, 2023. Member countries of the Digital Health Collaborative are Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Senegal. The key objectives of this inaugural convening of the JLN Digital Health Collaborative included; launching the new Collaborative, scoping and prioritizing the learning agenda with the members of the Collaborative and initiating knowledge co-production by the Collaborative. The Collaborative launch was co-located with the Asia eHealth Information Network (AeHIN) General Meetings to allow JLN participants to join AeHIN General Meetings (from November 6-8, 2023). Twenty-nine (29) representatives from 14 out of 15 Collaborative member countries attended the meetings in person. The Digital Health Collaborative Launch meeting was kick-started by a site visit to the headquarters of Indonesia’s Social Health Insurance Agency, BPJS-Health, on November 8, followed by scoping discussions on November 9 and 10. The BPJS-Health site visit commenced with opening remarks from Dr. Ali Ghufron Mukti, President Director of BPJS-Health, followed by a presentation by Dr. Donni Hendrawan, Deputy Director of Data and Information Management. The presentation highlighted key steps in the digital transformation journey at BPJS-Health, going from a graphical user interface desktop application in the early 2000s to a more robust digital ecosystem. The presentation was followed by a visit to the command center, where Collaborative members witnessed the different analytical dashboards used by BPJS. These include live data dashboards for problematic equipment at facilities, claims, population coverage, region-level service profile, and facility and region-level ICD-10 diagnosis rates. BPJS-Health press release featured the JLN site visit, which attracted comprehensive media coverage.  The two days of the plenary meeting included sessions that covered scoping discussions and prioritization of technical priorities, a presentation on existing tools relevant to overall technical priorities, a country panel discussion of promising practices in digital health, and the next steps for knowledge products for the group. Key knowledge products that were agreed on for co-development by the group include: A playbook/ how-to guide all levels of interoperability in health systems, including Health Information Exchange A guide on private sector solutions: Public Private Partnerships An orientation, evidence, and dialogue toolkit: How to pitch better and listen more A how-to toolkit for digital health governance An AI agent (GPT) for an annotated inventory of resources Member countries will identify the next steps regarding priority knowledge products and relevant next steps in the new year 2024. The World Bank provides technical facilitation for this Collaborative in partnership with the Digital Health Exemplars initiative, including the Center for Global Digital Health Innovation at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, eHealth Lab Ethiopia, the McKinsey Health Institute, Gates Ventures, and Exemplars in Global Health. Financial support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Umbrella Program, and the Government of Japan is gratefully acknowledged.

Learn More
NEWS March 30, 2023

Sustainable Health Financing for Primary Health Care: From Evidence to Practice Event

JLN Network Manager

An aim of the Reimagining PHC Collaborative is to bring practical and innovative approaches financing primary health care. This event is the first step in the process and aims to build a collective understanding of what constitutes health financing, the various pillars of health financing, and their interconnectedness. The session will be an entry point for ongoing conversations innovating in health financing for PHC, and the different approaches and applications of reforms. At this event, we will reflect on the key findings of the Lancet Commission with lead author, Professor Kara Hanson of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Ajay Tandon, Lead Economist at the World Bank, will offer further perspective on the Commission’s implications, followed by reflections from Erno Harzheim, former Vice-Minister for PHC, Ministry of Health Brazil. Finally, the event will feature a vibrant panel discussion with our speakers and country policymakers: Dr Davis Johnraj, Senior Officer in the National Health Financing Section of the Planning Division in Ministry of Health Malaysia, Dr Peter Yeboah, Executive Director of Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) and CHAG’s Deputy Executive Director, Dr James Duah.

Learn More