As leaders prepare to gather in Brazil for the G20 later this year, a new report commissioned by the Global Innovation Hub for Improving Value in Health and produced by the Lemann Foundation Programme highlights co-ordination and equity as two vital areas of focus for improving health systems in G20 countries. 

Co-ordination and equity have both been challenged amid the COVID-19 pandemic and play a significant role in advancing health systems which deliver both value for money and value for many. These two priorities are also top of mind for health policymakers in Brazil, the G20 host country. 

The report illustrates the challenges of improving coordination and equity through case studies of G20 countries, from the United Kingdom to Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Italy. There is also a major focus on Brazil and the state-level efforts towards operationalising regionalisation of health, a principle of the health system that is yet to be fully realised. 

Further recommendations of the report include building, supporting, and strengthening national high-level health coordination forums and ensuring a unified digital health infrastructure at national level. It also calls for the development of health equity frameworks and targets to be monitored and advanced, alongside more standard measures of access to healthcare among other recommendations. 

João Pedro Caleiro, writer-researcher at the Lemann Foundation Programme at Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government, said: 

“Although the worst of the pandemic has passed, health systems continue to confront significant challenges, from managing chronic diseases to addressing the impacts of climate change. Enhancing internal coordination and tackling equity issues are crucial priorities for the future. This report highlights the steps countries are taking in these areas and demonstrates how their systems are becoming more resilient and equitable as a result.” 

This report was commissioned by the Global Innovation Hub for Improving Value in Health and produced by the Lemann Foundation Programme, a comparative research and engagement programme in the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford focused on improving the public sector in Brazil and comparator countries. Writer-Researcher João Pedro Caleiro authored the report, based on his research, under the guidance of Director Dr. Anna Petherick, Associate Professor at the Blavatnik School and Co-Principal Investigator of Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT).